A Matter of Control
by K. Christine
Summary: An ambitious villain -- a sinister power -- a master plan. But first he'll have to go through Raven ... and she really, really wishes that last part wasn't true.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans. I don't even have a valid lease.

**Author's Note:** I want to point out that this story was originally written while season three of the show was still airing. I, like so many others, succumbed to the temptation to write a story about Trigon and the inner workings of Raven's mind. Then season four started complete with Trigon and Raven's destiny and this little story was promptly abandoned.

Recently I revived my obsession with the Titans and decided that with a fair amount of tweaking I could fit this story quite nicely into the continuity of the cartoon. Furthermore, it also works as a precursor, if not exactly a prequel, to my previously posted story. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Who _is_ this guy?" Beast Boy growled in frustration.

"Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World," Cyborg, Raven and Robin droned with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

"So he keeps saying, but – oof!" a stray bolt of power ricocheted off Beast Boy's shoulder and he tumbled over the edge of the roof. A second or two later, a green eagle soared up into view, dropped to the roof, and morphed back into Beast Boy. "—where the heck did he _come_ from?"

Maug laughed and spoke in his unnaturally booming voice, "Foolish children! It is not for you to understand the ways and plans of Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World!"

"Dude, we _know_ that part! But, like, we've never even _heard_ of you before. How can you be the greatest anything if nobody's ever _heard_ of you?"

"Soon all will know and fear the name of Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World!" Maug declared impressively. The man's confidence and arrogance was overwhelming, and Raven fought to block it out.

"This guy is giving me a headache," she muttered irritably. With a flick of her wrist, she launched a nearby generator at her opponent. Maug only laughed contemptuously as the generator broke apart mere feet from where the wizard stood.

"An excellent suggestion, my dear," Maug grinned triumphantly. "Exactly what I had in mind. Or should that be … what _you_ had in mind?"

"That … doesn't even make sense," Cyborg insisted. "Man, don't bother punning at all if you can't do better than that." He shot off a blast from his sonic, arm-mounted cannon, but Maug dodged just in time.

"This isn't working," Robin snapped. "Titans, I need everyone to –" he nimbly avoided a ball of flame Maug sent his direction, but a follow-up bolt of energy caught him square in the stomach and Robin skidded backwards, coming to a rest near the roof's edge.

Starfire bellowed furiously, flinging a barrage of starbolts as she ranted. "You will not hurt my friends! You will not succeed! You must stop this wickedness now!" Starfire was circling the wizard feverishly now, and Maug's eyes widened in surprise when a blast from her eyes scored a hit on his left side.

"Per – perhaps you are right," Maug stuttered nervously. Then he drew himself up and resumed his customary boom, "you have all provided me with a modicum of amusement, but now it is time to put into play the plan that I, Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World, have devised."

Raven rolled her eyes and prepared a new assault, teasing an iron girder into the air. She gasped in surprise when a tendril of magic coiled around her leg and, with a jerk, sent her crashing to the ground. Rubbing her ankle, she glared up at Maug as he loomed over her. Behind her, the girder fell back to the roof with a clang.

"That hurt, you creep."

Maug didn't answer. Instead he knelt down and grasped her face between his hands. "Hey! What are you --?!" Indignantly, Raven shoved him backward but Maug only laughed in satisfaction.

"Now, my dear, we can chat. Do not worry," he continued as Raven prepared to blast him off his feet, "I have taken the liberty of restricting your powers, but I plan to return them to you. Eventually." Raven lashed out at him anyway, but nothing happened. She felt … odd. Her powers didn't appear to be gone, but somehow she couldn't access them.

Over Maug's shoulder Raven saw a green bighorn sheep charge into view and then bounce backward violently onto its haunches mere feet from Maug. A sudden burst of blue served to illuminate what appeared to be a giant bubble encasing Maug and Raven. Outside the bubble, Raven could hear Cyborg's muffled curses as his sonic cannon failed to breach Maug's defenses.

"I have also opted to separate you from your companions," Maug added conversationally, "they too will be returned to you."

Raven gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes dangerously, "What do you want?"

"Why, _you_ my dear," Maug smiled in a self-satisfied way before continuing, "I've wanted to speak with you especially. I believe that our destinies are intertwined, yours and mine."

"Think again," Raven growled, scrambling to her feet.

"Er, I'd love to stay and chat," Maug went on quickly, "but I have somewhere to be. Don't worry, though. I'll be around." Maug raised his hand and pressed his palm firmly against Raven's forehead.

The energy bubble dissipated and Raven collapsed in a heap. One of Robin's birdarangs missed Raven by inches and Beast Boy had to swerve wildly to avoid running the girl down.

"Raven!" Starfire cried, swooping down to scoop the girl up into her arms.

"Maug," Robin ground out angrily, his fists clenched at his side. The other Titans looked around anxiously, but it quickly became apparent that Maug had disappeared.

* * *

"C'mon Raven," Beast Boy muttered desperately, "you've been out for hours. This isn't funny anymore."

Cyborg had his hands full with the medical equipment that was currently hooked up to Raven's still form. Starfire had been attempting to assist him, but her eagerness did not translate into helpfulness and she was eventually ordered to sit down and stay put.

Cyborg spared a compassionate glance for his green friend. "I'm pretty sure this isn't Raven's idea of a joke, either."

Beast Boy sighed and his shoulders slumped, "I know."

Starfire sniffled sympathetically and clasped her hands together. She opened her mouth to speak, but swiftly shut it again when Robin strode through the door.

"There's no sign of Maug. As far as I can tell, no one's ever even heard of the guy," he grunted in frustration and turned to Cyborg. "What's going on with Raven?"

"Her vital signs are good and her injuries are minor. As far as I can tell there's nothing wrong with her," Cyborg rattled off, "but she's not waking up."

"Strange," Robin commented, "why?"

"Maybe she's sleepy?" Cyborg suggested.

"Perhaps if we shook her forcefully and shouted …"

"I don't think that'll help, Star."

"But I have seen that same method used successfully in many popular television programs …"

"I _could_ try to inject her with …"

"We need to be careful not to aggravate the …"

"QUIET!" Beast Boy roared suddenly. The other three Titans stopped in mid-sentence and stared at him in shock. Robin recovered first.

"Look, Beast Boy, I know you're worried, but …"

"Shush," Beast Boy interrupted, "I'm trying to think."

Robin stared at Beast Boy, nonplussed. Then he shrugged and wandered over to Raven's bedside to check the instruments for himself. He turned back a few moments later at Beast Boy's gasp just in time to see the boy hurry from the room.

"Is … is he all right?" Starfire asked uncertainly.

"He'll be fine," Cyborg assured her. "He just needs a few moments to himself."

Satisfied, Starfire took her place at Raven's bedside and grasped her unconscious friend's hand tightly between both of her own. When Beast Boy returned five minutes later, she greeted him with an understanding smile.

"You have regained your good cheer, friend?"

"I've – what? No. I've just got an idea."

Cyborg lowered his eyebrow and groaned when he recognized the object clutched in Beast Boy's hands. "Aw, c'mon man. Isn't it a bit too early for something like that?"

"For something like what?" Robin asked curiously.

"Okay, don't freak out," began Beast Boy, "but I think Raven might be in real trouble and this is the best way I can think of to find out." Carefully, almost reverently, he placed the object he was holding on a nearby table; Starfire and Robin drew closer and gazed at it silently. Finally Robin looked up, bafflement etched on his face.

"It's … a mirror?"

* * *

Raven tumbled gracelessly to the ground. She was accustomed to landing on her feet when she entered her own mind, but then she was also used to entering deep meditation and using her mirror before doing so. She hadn't even been certain she _could_ find her way here without the mirror but she had succeeded, for all that, with nothing worse than a skinned knee to show for it.

Cautiously she rose to her feet, brushing herself off as she examined her surroundings. This wasn't her normal arrival point, that much was clear. If she had to guess she'd say she had probably arrived somewhere within Brave's borders. The landscape was mountainous, crossed by a fast moving river that sparkled in the sunlight. The colors of the sky and trees were bright and vivid. Confrontational.

Raven turned in a circle; she half expected Brave to trot up to her in greeting. Always before she had been met by at least one of her facets, perhaps they were waiting at the usual spot. It didn't matter much since she hadn't the time to chat anyway. Something was wrong and she needed to find out what.

Raven closed her eyes and concentrated. One of the advantages of being in her own mind was the ability to ascertain the goings on in every part of it with a few minutes of meditation. It only took a matter of moments to become aware of an abnormal sense of chaos and upheaval deep within Rage's border. Whatever the problem was, she wasn't surprised to find Rage involved; Rage had always been one of her trickiest emotions.

She gathered herself together with the intent to levitate in the direction of the disturbance, but discovered to her horror that her feet hadn't left the ground. "Fantastic," she muttered, "as if the unscheduled holiday wasn't enough." Well then, she'd just have to walk. Purposefully, she set off in the direction of the anomaly.

Half an hour's brisk walking led her out of Brave's country and into a barren landscape that was scarred and scored as if by lightning. The few plants and trees still clinging to the rocky soil were withered and brown. Raven did not detect any signs of recent battle in the near vicinity; the scarred ground had merely been the site of other battles. Other times.

Raven took a moment to get her bearings again, and then strode swiftly along her newly altered course. She was getting close now, she could feel it. Directly before her was a jagged hill. There was no clear path, and the ascent was covered in loose stones and shale. She willed herself once again to float into the air, but was no more able to this time than last. Sighing, Raven began the arduous task of reaching the top.

As she climbed sounds of struggle reached her ears. When she crested the hill, the scene unfolding before her appeared grim. Apparently all of her facets had convened in her absence and were now fighting Rage. Their powers, much like her own, seemed to be disabled and the fight was slowly edging into Rage's favor. Already Timid and Reasonable were off to the side, possibly injured, and none but Brave and Crude showed any aptitude for using their fists. Only Rage was in full possession of her powers, and only the superior numbers of the other Emotions had kept her in check.

Raven darted forward and knelt beside Reasonable. Putting a hand on the facet's shoulder, she asked her quietly, "What happened?"

Reasonable, startled, turned toward Raven. "I'm so relieved to see you here! He must have arrived about an hour ago. The rest of us tried to get rid of him, but somehow he convinced Rage to go along with what he wanted. She's the only one of us that has been returned to full power."

"_Who _arrived?" Raven demanded.

"Him."

Raven turned in the direction Reasonable pointed and her eyes narrowed. Somehow she'd completely missed seeing Maug when she approached, but she took a moment to study him now. A pleased smirk was plastered on his face as he watched Rage tear into her other Emotions. If Maug had been looking for someone to do his dirty work for him, he had certainly chosen a good candidate.

"Do either of you know what he wants?" Raven questioned Timid and Reasonable.

"Oh, yes," Reasonable answered while Timid nodded, "he wants to gain control of your mind and he asked each of us to help him. He insisted he'd make it worth our while. Most of us," here she spared a contemptuous glance at Rage, "were smart enough to turn him down."

Raven sighed through gritted teeth. "Stay here," she ordered Reasonable and Timid, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

* * *

"So … you two have actually been _in_ Raven's mind," Robin said skeptically. Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded vigorously. "And you got there by climbing into that mirror," he pointed at the object in question, currently in Cyborg's possession. "And you're sure you didn't just imagine it?"

"Dude!" Beast Boy exploded, "For the last time, it really happened! Even I couldn't make something like that up."

"And even if he _could_, I _wouldn't_," Cyborg put in.

"I am so relieved!" Starfire clasped her hands together ecstatically. "Let us quickly enter the mirror and retrieve our friend!"

Robin rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "I dunno. It sounds kind of risky. What if something happens and we can't get back out? I mean, if we can't help Raven it sounds like we could be trapped forever."

"But Raven's in trouble, I know it!" Beast Boy insisted, "We have to help her!"

"I think Salad Head may be right," Cyborg agreed. "You just want to leave her to deal with whatever's going on by herself?

Robin's answer was decisive. "No. I'm going to go in. Alone. I'll try to help her out, but if something happens I need you guys out here to try to fix things."

"No, nope, nuh-uh," Beast Boy interrupted, "No way. Raven's my friend, too. I'm not gonna just sit here and watch if she's in trouble. I'm going in, too."

Cyborg and Starfire nodded in agreement. "I wish to assist as well," Starfire was insistent, "I am certain that we will have a better chance of success if we proceed together."

"Besides," Cyborg grinned, "only B.B. and I have been there before. You're gonna need us to show you the ropes."

"I _don't_ think I'll need help with that," Robin smiled grudgingly, "I know Raven better than any of you. I'm pretty sure I can find my way around her mind." Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged knowing glances.

"Fine," Robin blew out a long breath, "we'll all go. So how does this thing work?"

* * *

Raven stomped over to Maug, her arms folded indignantly over her chest. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded heatedly.

Maug turned to her and flashed a smarmy smile. "Ah, hello! I am Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World. And which Emotion might you be?"

"All of them," Raven snapped. "What are you doing in my mind?"

Maug's eyes lit with understanding and his smile became genuine. "You have followed me here, how delightful! I've feel I should congratulate you on the meticulous order in which I found your mind. I was able to find what I needed with no trouble at all."

"I'm so pleased," Raven spat back. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now!"

"I think not, my dear. Do you know I've been searching for you for a very, very long time? I'm hardly likely to give up just when I'm within reach of my goal."

"What goal? What do you need me for?"

"I, Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World, plan to take over the planet. I could, of course, manage it all by myself, but the process will go so much smoother if I have a trusty lieutenant. I'll need someone to assist me with the more mundane aspects of world domination. When I read about you and your powers, I realized that I had found the perfect candidate for my noble plans."

"Think again," Raven countered, "In case you haven't noticed, I don't like you."

"I know," Maug agreed sadly, "and no one is more distressed about that than I. Fortunately, that little fact won't matter in a few moments. Usually my influence on other's minds takes a few days to reach potency but thanks to your rather unusual circumstances I was able to recruit one of your own Emotions to do my work for me. She seems to have a previous grudge against you anyway, all I had to do was restore her to full power."

Raven glanced over her shoulder at the continuing battle. Rage was looking rather tired but not nearly as weary as the rest of them were. Even Brave was flagging severely and seemed to have developed a slight limp.

"Any minute now I expect your angry side to gain the upper hand. Once she has conquered all of your other facets you, or rather she, will be mine to control. There really is nothing you can do about it, my dear. You might as well sit here and watch."

"Don't count on it," Raven snapped, aiming a fairly solid punch at the wizard's head. Her fist connected not with his nose, but with an invisible wall. Raven winced. Maug laughed.

"Don't be foolish; with your powers gone you are no threat to me. Now really, my dear, I must ask you to stand aside. I have important things to do."

Raven massaged her injured hand and glared at Maug for a moment, then without another word she spun on her heel and strode toward the battlefield. She gestured for Reasonable and Timid to follow her and together the three of them joined the other Emotions. Rage turned toward Raven, intent on attacking her, but Brave and Crude jumped to Raven's defense and clung determinedly to the angry Emotion's arms.

"What are you doing? Get out of the way!" Maug called to her.

"You may have weakened me, but this is still my mind!" Raven shouted back. In a softer voice meant only for her Emotion's ears, she added, "you know where to go. Be quick." Panting with the effort she managed to conjure a tiny black flame between her palms and then violently wrenched her hands apart. There was a flash of eerie light and a shriek of wind. Maug blinked rapidly and when his vision cleared Raven and her Emotions were gone.

* * *

"Everybody ready?" asked Beast Boy. "Be careful, the landing's a little rough."

The mirror had been propped up on the bed beside Raven's limp body. The girl was still, almost death-like, and if you weren't watching closely you could miss the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed shallowly. In contrast, the mirror seemed almost alive. Beast Boy had discovered that while looking directly at it revealed nothing more than a common mirror, flickers of light and motion could be detected if you caught a glimpse of the mirror with the corner of your eye.

Starfire could barely contain herself; the promise of helping her friend via this new adventure caused her endless excitement. Cyborg was less optimistic, "Do you think we oughta, I don't know, hold hands or something?"

"Good idea," Robin agreed. He reached out and clasped hands first with Cyborg, then with Starfire. Shrugging, Beast Boy grabbed Starfire's other hand and leaned forward to stare into the mirror. Gazing into it intently, he waited for something to happen.

A minute went by. Then another.

"Perhaps we should-" began Starfire, but Beast Boy silenced her with a squeeze of their joined hands. Furrowing his eyebrows, he concentrated on the mission: helping Raven. Help Raven. Raven.

Raven.

There.

Beast Boy realized he had forgotten this part but it was all coming back to him now. The way the magic of the mirror reached out and wrapped itself around him, almost crushing the breath from his body; the way it lifted him off his feet and shook him until his teeth rattled. He could faintly hear Starfire cry out in surprise and he gripped her hand more tightly in his own.

With a mighty tug, the mirror pulled the four friends into itself, one by one. Around them the air began to crackle and the wind began to rush. Beast Boy felt as if he had fallen into a thunderstorm. The air whipping against his face brought tears to his eyes and it filled his ears with an angry roar. He began to whirl about, tossed every which way in the howling storm. The last thing he remembered was a pang of panic as he felt Starfire's fingers slip from his.

* * *

**Further Author's Note:** It's no use pointing out that several of Raven's facets don't count as emotions, my only excuse is that the show started it: bravery in and of itself isn't exactly an emotion either.

Edited because kerricarri was right: that last bit was awful. Thanks for the fresh eyes!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Robin's head was pounding and his vision was still blurry. "Beast Boy wasn't kidding about the rough landing," he said, grinning ruefully. When he didn't hear a response he craned his neck for a glimpse of his friends. "Star?" he called, "Beast Boy? Cyborg?!" His voice echoed eerily across the barren, rocky landscape.

It was obvious that the rest of the team was missing; Robin tried to raise them on the communicator only to discover that it wasn't functioning. He weighed his options for a moment and then lurched to his feet. The sudden movement caused the pounding in his head to become unbearable and he sank to the ground again with a groan. First thing first, he'd get rid of this headache and then he'd find his friends.

In the midst of his forced state of relaxation Robin failed to notice the figure that was silently approaching from behind. The girl stood beside him indecisively for a moment before quietly clearing her throat. Startled for only a split second, Robin leapt to his feet and tackled the stranger before his eyes had a chance to fully adjust.

When his vision focused Robin found himself staring into a pair of widened violet eyes. He worked his mouth soundlessly for a moment, then Robin choked out a strangled apology and scrambled backward. The girl sat up and crouched before Robin, faint evidence of an amused grin on her face.

"Raven?" Robin whispered. The girl sat back on her heels and actually laughed. Not Raven, then. Her features were identical but she sported thick lensed spectacles and sunny yellow clothing in which the real Raven wouldn't have been caught dead.

"Sort of," the girl answered. "Sorry for laughing at you, I'm just so relieved to see you here, Richard. Are the others nearby?"

Robin sidestepped the question and fixed a stern expression on his face, "Don't call me that. You're not Raven, who are you?"

"Reasonable," the girl replied simply, "I _am_ Raven, in a way. I'm her sensible side. You may not realize it, but you and I are fairly well acquainted. I'm not as combustible as Raven's other Emotions so she tends to utilize me most often."

"Emotions. Right." Cyborg and Beast Boy had mentioned something like that. It hadn't seemed important at the time.

Reasonable smiled sympathetically. "The idea may take a while to get used to. Raven's emotions pose a threat to her if they aren't controlled. In order to prevent an accident, Raven works very hard to separate herself from her emotions, you've noticed she doesn't exhibit her feelings?"

Robin snorted, "You could say that." He scrambled to his feet.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have them," Reasonable continued, rising to stand beside him. "All of her emotions are here in her mind, but we've been given form and personalities. Almost as if we're separate people. Raven finds it easier to control her emotions if she can distinguish them from the rational part of her mind.

"That's where I come in. I'm already rational by nature, so Raven indulges me. It makes her feel more human. Raven tries very hard to feel normal."

Robin shook his head as though to clear it. "So where are the rest of you? Where's Raven?"

Reasonable's earnest expression became grim, she lowered her voice almost to a whisper, "I don't know. We were fighting Rage and losing …"

"Rage?"

"Yes. One of the other Emotions. She had been corrupted by the stranger and –"

"Wait, what stranger?" Robin demanded.

"I don't know," Reasonable admitted. "Raven spoke with him, but she never told me his name. I do know that he has managed to limit our powers, and that Rage is now working with him."

"Maug," mused Robin, "it has to be."

"Yes, well, after the two of them spoke, Raven gathered all of us together and banished us to the far corners of her mind. I'm certain she was trying to buy herself some time. I don't know where my sisters have gone, but I know where they'll be heading. Raven needs us; she won't be able to defeat Rage and the wizard without us. We all must go to the sacred spot, the Center of Raven's mind."

"Great," Robin said determinedly, "lead the way."

* * *

"Oh, please do not cry!" Starfire begged, her arms wrapped firmly around the sobbing girl. "We have come to save you, all will be well, there is no need to cry!"

The brown clothed girl continued to sob bitterly while her pink garbed twin sat on a nearby fence and looked on. She was the very picture of cheerfulness, swinging her feet and noisily sucking on a lollipop. Starfire had been taken aback when, upon regaining consciousness, she had been confronted by dual Ravens, but only for a moment. Since arriving on Earth she had encountered and grown used to many oddities, the discovery that there was more than one Raven inside of Raven's head seemed strange, but not overly so. She briefly wondered how many Starfires were running around inside her own head but dismissed the thought as being irrelevant to the situation.

The situation being, of course, that she had one very sad and one very happy Raven on her hands.

"Please, why are you still crying?"

The pink clad girl laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "Sad's always like that, she's probably just sorry you're stuck here. Not me, though. You and I are gonna have fun!"

Starfire blinked at the cheerful version of her normally emotionless friend, then she turned back to Sad and tried a different approach, "Everything will turn out all right. Our friends have all come to help. Together we will be victorious; there is no need to cry."

Sad's sobbing finally subsided; she swiped a hand at her wet cheeks and sniffled. Happy spoke up, "You're all here? You _all_ came for me? You guys are the best!"

Happy hugged herself gleefully and danced around the other two girls, but Starfire's gaze was arrested by the look on Sad's face. The tears had stopped but the expression of quiet despair that had replaced them was heartbreaking. "I wish you hadn't come. That terrible man has made us all weak, even Raven. If Rage takes over you'll all be trapped here. Forever. And it's all my fault."

"It is not your fault," Starfire corrected her firmly, "Cyborg and Beast Boy have already explained the danger, but we are your friends and so of course we have come to help you."

Sad turned away, "You can't help."

Happy nodded gently in agreement, "She's right, you probably can't. But I'm still glad you're here."

"Maybe so," countered Sad, "but I'll never be able to live with myself if something happens to all of you. You have to leave. Now."

Again Starfire shook her head. "We are staying. Besides, I do not think we can leave this place without Raven's assistance. Now please help me find our friends, we seem to have become separated."

Sad and Happy exchanged a measured look, Sad sighed.

"You're right. We'll go find the boys."

"And Raven," Happy added, her cheerfulness returning now that a plan had been agreed upon. Sad nodded again and beckoned to Starfire to follow them.

"And Raven."

* * *

"You have _got _to stop doing that!" Cyborg said testily, "The Raven I know wouldn't be caught _dead_ doing that."

"Yeah, yeah. 'Scuse me and all," an orange clad Crude waved his objections off. "I just like to see your reaction. Raven _never_ lets me out."

"There's a reason for that," Cyborg muttered grumpily.

Crude stopped to get her bearings, absently scratching her thigh. For all Cyborg knew, they could have been traveling in circles, but Crude seemed to know exactly where she was. "We need to start heading that way when we get to the next crossroads," she decided, pointing into the distance.

"Tell me again where we're going?" asked Cyborg, "I'm still not clear …"

"The Center," Crude interrupted, "a safe spot. Well, safer anyway. It's sacred to Raven. You'll know it when we get there."

"Okay, so _when_ will we get there?" Cyborg tried again.

"Dunno. We're pretty far away. If my powers weren't gone it wouldn't take long at all but I can still find it. It'll just take me some time." She cleared her throat and spat on the rocky ground, "Good thing you ran into me, huh?"

Cyborg sighed, "Yeah. Lucky me."

* * *

Beast Boy had spent the better part of an hour trying to convince Timid that he didn't hate her for losing control of Rage, that he wasn't impatient with her for not knowing exactly how to get to wherever they were going, and that he was, in fact, glad to see her again. Truthfully, he had lost patience long ago and was considering whether or not he'd have better luck finding his friends on his own when they ran into Brave.

She was sitting on a low hanging tree branch on the side of the path staring stonily off into the distance. She looked up at their approach and her expression cleared like sunshine breaking through the clouds.

"All right!" she exclaimed, jumping down and throwing her arms around Beast Boy, "What're _you_ doing here?"

Beast Boy shrugged out of her embrace and took a step backward, ignoring her question to pose one of his own. "Why are you just _sitting_ here? This is no time to daydream, you're supposed to be helping Raven!"

Brave sobered and glanced briefly down at her feet, then she raised her chin to look Beast Boy in the eye. "I know," she acknowledged. "I was heading to her, ready to dive right in, y'know? But I remembered that Reasonable's always telling me that I rush into things before I think them through and that being brave doesn't have to mean being stupid. And now with most of my power gone I just figured that going in by myself without a plan could get me killed, and Raven's gonna need all the help she can get, y'know?"

Beast Boy swallowed. "Yeah," he nodded glumly and he patted Brave on the shoulder.

"Only I'm not that great at planning," she admitted sadly, "I miss Reasonable."

Beast Boy exhaled loudly and squared his shoulders, "Well, I'm here now," he thumped his chest with a fist, "I'll get you guys there, okay? Just be careful. Raven needs you guys, and the Titans need Raven."

Timid flushed, but Brave grinned boldly, "Awesome. I can show you the way, and now that I have backup …"

"Ahem," Beast Boy crossed his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes at Brave.

"Oh, fine. I'll be _your_ backup," she agreed good-naturedly.

"Riiight," he replied suspiciously, "Why don't you just show me where Raven is."

"No prob. C'mon Timid, I'll race you to the next crossroads!"

Timid squeaked and ducked her head, but Brave just laughed and sprinted off down the path. Beast Boy cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, "Hey! Don't go too far!" He sighed and shook his head disgustedly, "and she say's _I'm_ immature."

"C'mon Timid, let's catch up. Don't lose us, 'kay?" He shot her a bracing grin, white teeth sharpening into fangs as he morphed into a green cheetah and turned to bound after Brave's retreating form.

Left standing alone, Timid looked around for a moment. Things were suddenly too quiet, almost as if something were watching. Waiting. She swallowed nervously, then whirled around with a flurry of grey cloak and pelted off in the direction the others had gone.

She did not look back.

* * *

"Odd," Reasonable commented.

Robin nearly stumbled when he was jerked out of his own thoughts by the sound of her voice. He and Reasonable had been walking together silently for quite some time now.

"What's odd?"

"That we have yet to encounter either my sisters, your friends …"

"_Our_ friends."

"Hmm. Or any sign of Maug. Even the birds are missing."

Robin didn't like the sound of that. "Birds?"

Reasonable chuckled, "You'll know them if you see them. Black. Four red eyes. Words of doom."

"Nifty. What are they doing inside of your mind?"

"_Raven's_ mind. You're still confusing the facet with the whole. I'm just a part of what makes Raven Raven. She trusts me with a great deal of information, but even I don't know everything about her. As for the birds, they were a creation of Trigon's, a sort of foothold into his daughter's mind, a means to wear her resistance down. You'll find quite a few of those kinds of remnants left here."

"Why? I thought Trigon was gone."

"He is, but please don't forget that he was very powerful, and that he had been trapped within Raven's mind for a very long time. Some scars heal slowly. Or not at all."

The walked in silence again, the eerie stillness broken only by the tread of their footsteps. Robin turned his head and regarded Reasonable for a moment. She met his gaze and raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Something on your mind, Richard?"

Robin furrowed his brow, "I told you not to call me that."

"True, you did. I'm sorry."

His expression softened, and he lowered his voice, "Are things really that difficult for Raven, still? I mean … I guess I thought with Trigon gone, things would start to get better for her."

"They are better," Reasonable reassured him.

"But how? She seems almost the same as when we first met. She hardly ever smiles, she never cries. Sometimes it feels like her emotions aren't even there at all."

Reasonable smiled again, "You haven't met Happy."

Robin grinned at the thought and rubbed the back of his neck, "Happy? No, I'd remember that."

"Several of Raven's emotions are just as strong, she works very hard to contain them. Even with Trigon gone, Raven's emotions are still dangerous. Raven would like to express joy and sadness just like the rest of you do, but she's smart enough to know that she must not lose control. This has been her burden since childhood; she's had many years of practice."

Robin considered this, "I've heard all of this before, I guess, but Raven doesn't really talk about it. I guess I just didn't realize how hard she must have had it growing up like that."

Reasonable placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you think about it, you've _all_ experienced hardship or sorrow. I believe that that's what bonds the five of you together even more than your power or desire to save the world. You need each other."

Robin looked her in the eye, "Huh. So that's what's going on in Raven's head?"

An expression of consternation crossed Reasonable's face when she realized what she'd revealed, but all she said was, "She's given it some thought."

* * *

Had anyone bothered to interrogate Cyborg on the matter, he would have sworn up and down that Raven didn't even _know_ any bawdy jokes, much less that she'd ever repeat them. He would have been wrong. Crude had spent the last hour regaling him with every tasteless story she could recall, laughing raucously at each conclusion.

Cyborg had long since admitted to himself that he was oddly impressed. Apparently the shenanigans that he and Beast Boy occasionally indulged in were mere child's play to a master like Raven. _And I'm never gonna let her forget it, either,_ he promised himself with scarcely contained glee.

Crude burst out laughing again as she concluded her latest offering and Cyborg indulged in a smirk, "Nice to know Raven's not so refined after all," he observed.

Crude let out an unladylike snort, "Oh, she's refined, all right. She never even gives me the time of day. Some of my ideas are just _brilliant_, but she cuts me off before she even lets herself _think_ them. She's kind of a drag."

"Well, if it's any consolation," he turned to look her square in the eye, "we all like Raven anyhow."

"Figures," Crude scowled.

As he returned his gaze to the path, Cyborg's sympathetic reply was replaced by a shriek of surprise. The trail ahead was no longer deserted; standing in front of him was a purple cloaked figure of a girl.

"Where the heck did you come from?!"

The girl pushed back her hood to reveal Raven's familiar features beaming at Cyborg. "I heard someone coming and thought it might be Rage, so I hid. When I realized it was you I just had to come out and say hello!" With that declaration the girl launched herself at Cyborg, wrapping her arms around his neck in a bone-crushing hug.

Cyborg barely had time to register the shock before she stepped back again, still smiling into his eyes. "Hi!" she said brightly, eyes lit up joyfully. Cyborg raised his eyebrow and rubbed the back of his neck confusedly.

When he didn't answer immediately, the purple clad girl turned to the orange one, her smile fading slightly.

"Hiya, Crude."

"Hey," Crude replied disinterestedly.

Cyborg regained his voice, "So. Which Emotion are you?"

The girl beamed again and opened her mouth to speak, but Crude cut her off. "That's Affection. She gets on your nerves."

Hurt fleetingly crossed Affection's face, but she shrugged resignedly, "Crude and I don't always get along, but I love her anyway." She attempted to throw her arms around Crude, but Crude wriggled away contemptuously.

"This is great! Right?" Cyborg began, "The more Emotions that get to Raven the better."

"Right," Affection answered decisively, "I'm glad you're here to help, too. Are the others with you?"

"No," snapped Crude.

When she didn't go on, Cyborg explained, "We haven't seen anyone else yet, but the others are probably on the way, too. That's why we're here."

Affection clasped her hands together, her eyes wide, "The rest of the Titans are here? All of them?" At Cyborg's nod she sighed contentedly, her face glowing.

Cyborg looked over to see Crude sulking silently. "And what's wrong with you?"

Crude scowled. "Nothing. It's just … it's her. Everyone will be glad to see her, everyone always likes Affection. Nobody's ever glad to see me."

Cyborg laughed, "I don't know, you'll definitely make an impression, anyway."

"Y'think?" Crude brightened.

"Oh yeah," Cyborg grinned. "What say we go find them before something creepy finds _us_?"

Crude nodded and even allowed Affection to link arms with her, albeit with an exaggerated eye-roll, as she led them up the path.

* * *

When the scenery changed, Beast Boy was immediately aware of it, after all, it didn't take a genius to figure it out. One minute they were walking along a rocky, narrow path suspended in the midnight sky, then they passed under a stone arch and found themselves in a gloomy wood. Overhead, ominous grey clouds had gathered and were drenching the party with an icy drizzle.

Brave and Beast Boy broke off singing their rousing yet nonsensical marching song. When Beast Boy had first suggested that it might make the time pass more quickly, Brave had agreed enthusiastically, the fact that she'd never heard it before mattered not at all. Fortunately, she had proved to be a quick study and before long the two of them were bellowing doggedly, if not quite tunefully, at the top of their lungs.

Timid, who had been shuffling behind them with her eyes rooted to the path, smacked into Beast Boy when he abruptly halted. She blushed and stammered an apology but Beast Boy just patted her arm absently as he took in his new surroundings.

"Where are we?" he wondered aloud.

Brave exhaled a low whistle and then wrinkled her nose. "I think we're in Sad's land," she said, "Super. This'll be just peachy."

At Beast Boy's questioning look, Brave went on, "Sad's kind of a wet blanket. It's not her fault, I guess – comes with the territory – but I try to avoid her. Maybe we should go around."

Timid cleared her throat nervously and looked as if she'd like to disagree. Brave turned to look at her, not unkindly, but Timid just ducked her head and returned her gaze to the ground.

"Well," Beast Boy began, throwing an arm around Timid's shoulders, "it doesn't matter. If this is the shortest way to get to Raven, then that's what were gonna do. Besides," his eyes glinted teasingly at Brave, "I never expected you to be afraid of a little rain."

Brave snorted, "Oh, the rain's just the beginning. Whatever, shorty, have it your way."

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes menacingly, "One more crack like that and Timid and I are leaving you to fend for yourself." His voice softened and he tugged at Timid's arm, "C'mon Timid, you and I aren't scared of a little water, right?" To emphasize his point he morphed abruptly into a duck and quacked happily at Timid.

A laugh escaped from Timid though she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth, her cheeks reddening again. Beast Boy regained his human form and grinned winningly at her. Brave rolled her eyes at his antics.

"I hate to break up playtime, but if we're gonna go this way let's get it over with." Brave turned on her heel and strode deeper into the wood, her cloak swishing around her ankles.

A ghost of a smile crossed Timid's face. "You made her mad," she whispered. "She really is a little afraid of Sad's home, but you're the last person she'd want to have notice that."

"Really?" Beast Boy was taken aback. Timid nudged him forward and he started after Brave. "Why?"

Timid lowered her voice still more, "She tries to impress you; she doesn't want you to know that she's afraid."

Surprised, he blurted, "Impress me? That's ridiculous. She … Raven thinks I'm an idiot."

Timid shrugged, "Sometimes. But when you fight criminals, you and Raven work well together, you're a good team. Brave is proud of that and she likes that you trust her. She wouldn't want you to start thinking she's a coward."

"Huh," Beast Boy scratched his head. "I never really thought about it. Should I go apologize?"

"No," Timid shook her head, "That'd just make it worse. She'll get over it; she just needs something to fight."

Beast Boy nodded once and shoved his hands into his pockets. He walked quietly beside Timid for a few moments, lost in thought. When he turned to face her again, his face was quizzical.

"So … when did you get so chatty? You're not really acting timid right _now_."

Timid bit her lip and avoided his gaze, "I hadn't realized it. I guess … ever since you and Cyborg came to visit me that first time, I've felt better around you guys. I don't worry so much that you'll stop liking me, or think I'm weird. I sort of … I sort of feel like we're friends. Kind of."

Beast Boy broke into a grin and flung an arm around her again. "We are friends," he assured her, "you, me and Cy. Best friends. Someone's gotta plot against Rob and Star when they start getting mushy."

"Best friends," Timid murmured. She sighed contentedly, "I like that."

Beast Boy gave her shoulders a quick squeeze before releasing her.

"Me too."

* * *

A gentle breeze teased at Starfire's hair and played with the hems of Sad and Happy's cloaks. Starfire brushed an errant lock out of her eyes and closely scrutinized her companions.

"You are not teasing me? You truly think that Robin may feel more than just … affection for me?"

Happy giggled, "Duh. It's totally obvious."

"And you do not think it's … strange?"

"No way! You two are so cute together. Totally meant to be."

Sad nodded in agreement, "I was afraid you two would never figure it out. I was very unhappy about it for a while."

Starfire colored and lowered her eyes, "I do consider him my very best friend," she looked up again and stammered, "I – I mean besides Raven, of course."

Happy waved her hand dismissively and Sad replied wistfully, "Don't be silly. Raven isn't really best friend material. Of course you and Robin are best friends."

Hesitantly, Starfire continued, "And … sometimes I feel that perhaps he and I will-" she broke off with a squeal of surprise. The three girls, startled, crowded together and looked around warily.

Out of thin air, tall white walls had sprung up around them, enclosing them on all sides. Starfire furrowed her brow and her eyes began to glow green. With a flick of her wrist, she flung an experimental starbolt at the nearest wall. When nothing happened, she let loose a barrage of green energy.

"Stop!" Sad called, her hand on Starfire's arm, "It isn't working. Look."

Sad was right. The walls continued to gleam dully, the white surface completely unscathed.

"Besides," Happy spoke up, "I know where we are. This is Timid's maze."

Starfire was perplexed for a moment and then her eyes lit up with comprehension. Sad sighed and reached out to regain her grip on Starfire's elbow. "Don't bother," she said as she pulled Starfire back to the ground, "you can't see over it, there's a barrier."

"Then how are we to get out?"

"Only Timid knows the right path," Happy volunteered, "we're just gonna have to guess."

At Starfire's expression, Happy continued, "C'mon, it won't be that bad. Think of it as a game."

"But we do not have time for games!" Starfire exploded, her hair bouncing wildly around her shoulders, "Raven requires our help, there is no time to waste!"

"No use arguing about it," Sad shrugged, "We can't do anything about it now."

"Yeah, no big," Happy added, "We're sure to find the way out eventually."

If Starfire's snort was any indication, 'eventually' was not nearly good enough, but she squared her shoulders and marched toward the only visible opening. "Fine, but we will do this quickly." A thought struck her and she brightened before continuing, "perhaps we will discover Timid somewhere within the maze and she can guide us to the end."

"Maybe," Sad said uncertainly, "but I wouldn't count on it. I'm afraid we're going to have to do this on our own."

"Nothing wrong with looking on the bright side," Happy retorted. She bounded off after Starfire and missed Sad's murmured reply.

"Easy for you to say."

* * *

"Ow."

Raven remained where she had fallen, sprawled out on the ground, while she waited for the breath to return to her body. She had fallen for what seemed like a very long time before finally hitting the stony ground for the second time today and her body was starting to protest.

While she waited for her body to recover, Raven took a moment to take stock of the goings on in her mind. As far as she could tell all of her Emotions had been safely dispersed and were out of immediate danger. Furthermore, Rage was about as far from Maug as Raven had been able to send her. True, Rage was capable of moving through Raven's mind in the normal manner while Raven herself and the rest of the Emotions were not, but there was nothing further Raven could do about that.

It also seemed … Raven bit her lip and focused. Well, this was interesting. It appeared that help was on the way. She couldn't decide if she was grateful for the assistance or upset that she was placing her friends in danger, but there wasn't anything she could do about that, either. For the moment they were safe, she would just have to trust that the Titans could take care of themselves.

Raven's lungs started functioning normally again and she drew a deep breath. She started to struggle to her feet, but a sharp pain in her leg warned her against being to ambitious. Gingerly taking stock of the situation, Raven decided that the most pressing problem was the sizable rock digging into the side of her thigh, and aside from that she seemed to be fine.

With a pained grunt Raven slowly rolled into a sitting position, then staggered to her feet. A quick examination of her leg convinced her that she was already developing a nasty bruise, but she could ignore that. At least she was still able to walk. Her body gave a groan of protest as she forced her feet to move and she started to make her way, albeit slowly, toward the path.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Cyborg looked around in astonishment. His practiced eyes took in everything from the impeccably manicured lawn and gardens complete with elegant statuary, to the decidedly untidy Crude sprawling lazily in the grass.

"Where are we?" he marveled, awestruck.

"I've never been here before," Affection breathed, "but I love it!"

"S'okay," Crude shrugged, "too prissy for me."

Cyborg's wonder deflated like a punctured balloon. "So this isn't where we'll find Raven?"

"Nope," replied Crude, "not nearly defensible enough. Besides, numbskull, we told you you'd know it when we got there."

"Well, since I didn't know this wasn't it, obviously you were wrong," Cyborg snapped irritably.

"Very logical," a raspy voice broke in, sounding highly amused, "I'm sure you'll fit in here just fine."

Cyborg whirled around, charging his arm cannon as he turned. "Who said that?" he demanded.

"I did."

Cyborg stumbled backward, treading on Affection's foot and causing her to squeal in pain. The voice had issued from a particularly lovely statue of a semi-clothed goddess, a statue that was currently waving her fingers at him casually.

"What the-?"

"A bit odd, isn't it, that the logical portion of Raven's mind would contain something as remarkable as a talking piece of masonry? I choose to view it as evidence of an ironic sense of humor."

"But-"

"No time for conversation, your challenge lies before you," the statue sighed. She shook her head in disappointment and added no less audibly, "and I thought you were one of the sensible ones."

Cyborg furrowed his brow and nodded hesitantly, "O-kay."

"You mustn't hesitate, just keep your wits about you and you'll do just fine."

"Ya mind explaining what the heck you're talking about?"

"The _doors_," the statue exclaimed exasperatedly, "Perhaps I gave you too much credit. Just … look." She pointed imperiously down the gravel path toward an ivy covered stone wall that seemed to stretch the entire length of the horizon. Where the wall crossed the path a small wooden door hung.

Cyborg's look of confusion didn't fade, "What about them?"

The statue sighed again, then waved exasperatedly. "Just find a way to open the door. Sheesh."

Cyborg's expression immediately cleared and he flashed a grin. "Well, of course! No need to make things complicated." He again strode down the path, but stopped and turned to face the statue again. He grinned congenially as he effected a casual salute, "Thanks for the, erm, help. You're the best."

The statue rolled her stone eyes and growled at him, then rasped, "Remember to pay attention."

"Yeah, we got it."

She started to say something else, but Cyborg, Crude and Affection were already out of audible range.

"Go through the door," Crude mocked, "Fantastic advice. A real winner. I was planning on slithering under it, personally."

"She's just bored," Cyborg offered, "Standing in one spot day after day, no one to talk to. Little bit of useless chatter seems just about right."

"Whatever," Crude muttered, scuffing her feet in the gravel.

Affection broke her thoughtful silence to comment, "I feel sorry for her. She was just trying to help."

"Some help," Crude chortled as they reached the wooden door. "Good thing she was there or I wouldn't have known to do this," she reached out and grasped the brass doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. She scowled as she rattled the knob, but the door remained locked.

"I'll try," Cyborg volunteered, already powering up his sonic cannon.

"Your solution for everything," Crude observed admiringly.

Cyborg flashed her a quick grin, then blasted the door.

He didn't even dent it.

"Oh, man!" he protested, shaking his arm until it rattled, "This is getting ridiculous."

Affection stepped forward and silently pointed at a previously unnoticed plaque hanging above the door. On it was engraved, _'The more you take, the more you leave behind.'_

The three of them gazed at the sign blankly.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Cyborg asked confusedly.

Crude shrugged, but Affection spoke up, "Maybe it's a clue. Maybe if we figure it out we'll find out how to open the door."

"Ya mean like a riddle?"

"Yes. A riddle! Exactly."

"Okay, so what's the answer?"

Affection eagerly began suggesting solutions until Cyborg started offering up ideas of his own. Crude shifted her weight from foot to foot for a few moments, then snorted derisively and plopped down in the grass, her back braced against the rough stone wall.

"Apples!"

"Apples?"

"No? What about flowers?"

"Don't think so. How about notes? You can take notes then leave them somewhere, I guess."

"Ooo, or naps!"

"That doesn't even make sense …"

Crude tried valiantly to tune the other two out. She stretched her legs out in front of her and looked back the way they had come. Could they possibly find another way around? Sure, they'd lose some time, but they were losing time arguing about this damned door, too.

"Or time? Take a time out? No, that doesn't work …"

"How about taking turns?"

"The more you take turns the more you leave behind? I'm not seeing it."

"I know! A drink!"

Crude snorted derisively, Affection was completely useless. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the surrounding landscape. Probably the wall didn't continue forever, perhaps they could make their way around it. Given time … nope, forget it. They'd didn't have time to waste on probablys and maybes. They'd just have to retrace their footsteps and …

Crude smirked.

"Footsteps," she voiced triumphantly.

"What?" Cyborg turned to her.

She swung her head around to face him, her lips poised to repeat herself, but there was no need.

The door had already swung open.

* * *

Reasonable cautiously followed Robin out of the shadow of the stone archway they had just passed through. She glanced nervously from side to side, but the surrounding landscape was utterly still. Even the breeze had died down.

"Where are we now?" Robin asked with interest, surveying the scorched ground and stunted trees for the first time. When Reasonable didn't answer he turned and raised an eyebrow, his stern expression prodding her silently.

"This is where Rage lives," Reasonable slowly replied, shuddering as she added, "This is where it all started."

Robin frowned and studied his immediate surroundings more closely. He'd have to be alert if he wanted to protect a helpless Reasonable, not to mention himself, from both Rage and Maug.

"She … she's not here now," Reasonable replied to his unspoken question. "Rage is … psychically noisy. Even with most of my power depleted, I could feel her if she was nearby."

"Hmm," Robin narrowed his eyes behind his mask. He wouldn't risk taking her word for it. A moment's scrutiny, however, convinced him that they were safe enough for the time being. He was, after all, in a hurry.

"So we have to go through here to get to Raven?" he prompted.

Reasonable hesitated, "It would be the shortest route, anyway."

Robin nodded brusquely. "Fine, let's get going."

Reasonable trotted to catch up to him. "I should warn you, this won't be easy. Rage's cruelty manifests itself here in her home, traveling here is very dangerous."

"How—?" Robin began, but the rest of his question was drowned out as a sudden piercing shriek rent the stillness. Reasonable and Robin clamped their hands over their ears and stared at each other in anguish as the horrible wailing continued, growing louder and angrier with each passing second.

Robin motioned with his elbow for Reasonable to follow him and the two stumbled down the path, deeper into the miserable landscape. They ran for lack of a better option, hoping desperately to leave the terrible screaming behind. An eternity passed before the howls started to fade into something more bearable. Robin couldn't decide if they were actually leaving them behind or if the blood pounding in his ears was deafening him to other noises, but he welcomed the relief either way. A quick glance in Reasonable's direction showed tears streaming down her face, but a determined glint in her eyes.

He was developing an ache in his side when the shrieking stopped as abruptly as it began. Robin skidded to a halt and Reasonable collided with him. Collecting his wits and his breath, Robin reveled in the welcome resurgence of silence.

Reasonable, panting next to him, touched his elbow gently. "We should keep walking. The furious screams are the least of our worries here. I'd like to reach the other side as quickly as possible."

"I couldn't agree more," Robin admitted, nodding heartily.

* * *

After a few false starts Starfire, Happy and Sad had agreed on a method for getting through the maze. Happy had wanted to charge through it blindly, optimistically certain that they would find the way out, but Sad and Starfire had overruled her.

Starfire had remembered, although she wasn't certain of her source, that the best way to get through a maze was to keep your hand on the wall at all times and eventually you'd find the exit. Sad, with only minimal consideration, had agreed that the plan didn't seem to be immediately doomed to failure, and their course of action was determined. Happy was appeased when Starfire suggested she be allowed to choose which hand they would follow.

"Right! No, left! No, no … right!"

They all agreed that Happy had made the right choice, and all three girls placed their right hands on the smooth wall of the maze. Starfire confidently led the way, pleased that her plan had been so readily accepted. She was surprised and gratified that Raven, or at least a part of Raven, was so willing to rely on her judgment.

She found herself eager to find the real Raven so that she could discuss this with her; they could have a long talk and would, perhaps, even hug. Her cheerful thoughts were interrupted by Sad's sniffle.

"What is wrong, now?" Starfire asked concernedly. She resisted the urge to turn around and comfort Sad, they had to keep moving.

"No, it's nothing. Only … Raven's mind is a very treacherous place, especially now. She would have liked to have kept you from seeing it like this. I would hope," this with a sidelong glance at Happy, "that she will be glad to see you here, but I think she'll be very upset to find all of her friends in danger."

"Are we not usually in danger?" Starfire countered, proud of her argument, "It is a part of what we do."

"Yes, but Raven won't like being the one who put you there."

"She did not," Starfire replied firmly. "It was a decision each of us made for ourselves. Robin did not want us all to come, but we insisted. This is what friends do. Raven would not have left one of us in danger."

"Yes," Happy broke in, "but she likes all of you more than she thinks you like her. I'm glad to see her proved wrong."

Starfire made a mental note to hug Raven to within an inch of her life when they finally met up again. She was abruptly pulled out of her pleasant daydream when she realized that her trailing fingers were no longer touching the cool, smooth wall of the maze. When she turned her head, she was momentarily horrified to find her hand missing entirely from the wrist down.

She gasped and jerked her hand away from the wall. A quick examination determined that it was the wall, and not her hand, at fault. The wall seemed to be some sort of illusion; Starfire put her hand through it once again, then pulled it out. When nothing happened, she called "Wait here, please," over her shoulder, took a deep breath and stepped through the false wall.

Starfire shivered as she scanned her new surroundings. This side was considerably cooler. The smooth walls of the maze had been replaced by rough stone walls, their damp surfaces covered in oddly colored moss. It was a small room with no apparent exits; in fact, there was nothing of interest at all beyond a large pile of rubble in a far corner.

Satisfied that this would not prove to be the way out, Starfire spun on her heel and walked back through the wall.

Or rather, she attempted to.

She hit the unforgiving stone face first and staggered backward in shock. She could already feel a bruise forming above her eyebrow, but the realization barely registered. Confusedly, she ran her fingers over the wall she had walked through not two minutes earlier. It was now as solid as it looked.

In a sudden panic, Starfire began making her way around the small room, her hands groping the stone searching for a weakness. Her search came to an abrupt halt when she neared the rubble pile. It was breathing.

Wide eyed and careful not to release the squeal she could feel forming in her throat, Starfire backed toward the far corner of the room. The gently pulsing mound of rocks apparently hadn't been disturbed and she allowed herself to relax slightly.

"Hey, what's up?" Happy's cheery voice broke the uneasy silence.

With a grunt, then a roar, the pile of stones rolled forward, gradually assuming a crude, hulking form. Happy shrieked in surprise and Starfire leapt between her and the rock monster. "Friend, you must stay behind me!" she warned as she shot a volley of experimental starbolts in the beast's direction.

The stone monster was temporarily confused by Starfire's attack, but ultimately undamaged. After a moment of indecision it again lumbered in the girls' direction. Behind her, Starfire could hear Happy yelling at her, but her adrenaline rush drowned out her words.

Happy was entirely defenseless, and Starfire's first thought was to protect her from harm. She began flinging starbolts in earnest, circling the creature as she tried to find a weakness. The rock monster was slow, but almost completely impervious to her powers. From behind her, Happy called out encouragement.

Starfire dodged the rock monster's clumsy swing and blasted it square in the chest with twin bolts of force from her eyes. Part of the monster crumbled away from the impact, and Starfire renewed her attack. It seemed that the monster was susceptible to erosion, but she herself would almost certainly tire before she could do enough damage to destroy it.

Happy called to her again and reached forward to grip Starfire's elbow firmly. Starfire started to protest but before she could draw in the necessary breath she was yanked backward off her feet. She landed in a heap on the ground beside Happy staring at a white, smooth wall not two feet in front of her. She glanced up in time to catch Happy's ebullient grin, then looked over and focused on Sad's face, practically glowing with satisfaction.

"I told Happy to wait for you, like you'd asked," Sad explained with a meaningful look in Happy's direction. "When you two didn't come back out again, I got worried. Then I felt Happy start to panic."

"I wasn't panicking," Happy began, but Sad cut her off.

"You were. So I reached through the wall to see if I could feel anything. That's when Happy grabbed my hand and I pulled her back through."

"And I grabbed you as I went through," Happy grinned proudly. "Pretty quick thinking, huh?"

Starfire rose to her feet and rubbed her sore elbow; she'd probably have a bruise there to match her forehead. "I am relieved to have been rescued," she admitted. "We will have to be more careful from now on. I will not take such a foolish risk again."

"Glad to hear it," Happy called over her shoulder as trotted further down the passage, her hand firmly pressed to the wall.

Sad glared after her, but Starfire only shrugged and moved to follow her.

"You weren't the one being foolish," Sad began, "you told her not to follow you."

"Perhaps," Starfire agreed, "but she is correct, we must stay together. I am just glad that no one was hurt."

"This time," Sad added.

* * *

Timid had broken several miles back. She was a mess at this point, sobbing and shuddering, her cloak drawn tightly around her. Beast Boy fought his own crippling grief long enough to reach out every few minutes to pat her back comfortingly.

Ahead of them, nearly indistinguishable in the almost solid blackness, Brave doggedly soldiered onward. Beast Boy had tried morphing into a tiger, both for the enhanced vision and to comfort Timid a little, but he morphed back when he realized that he would have to call out directions to Brave. Even his inferior human version of sight was sharper than hers; the girls were almost totally blind in the pressing darkness.

"You sure you don't want me to take the lead for a bit?" Beast Boy called out when Brave stumbled over a protruding tree root.

"I've got it, thanks," she replied sharply, a catch in her voice. Brave's pride was proving greater than the pain in her frequently stubbed toe. Beast Boy shrugged tiredly in the blackness and again resigned himself to simply calling out the major obstacles before Brave smacked into them.

A sob from Timid reminded him again of his own depression, and he swallowed the ever present lump in his throat. They desperately needed to leave this darkness behind. As if the reduced pace and barked shins weren't enough, each bout of blackness brought with it an overwhelming feeling of hopeless despair. On top of that, he was beginning to hear things; rustlings and whisperings; evidence of beings that weren't really there.

This particular patch of darkness had lasted more than twice as long as every previous stretch and Beast Boy was beginning to fear that he'd never be happy again. In his grief addled mind, evil thoughts chased each other around, emerging one after the other.

He would never escape this place. He would never find his way back home. He would never taste tofu again.

He would never see his friends again. He and Cyborg would never again play the Gamestation together.

They would never find Raven. Raven was hurt. Raven was dead.

Dwelling on his thoughts caused too much pain, so he let them disperse as soon as he recognized them. He realized, of course, that the last thought couldn't be true. If Raven had been killed then he, trapped here in her mind, would be dead too and probably unable to consider the possibility that he might be dead. That circular train of thought caused his head to pound and was quickly abandoned, but he took comfort in the idea that if one of his fears was unjustified, the rest might be as well.

Timid was still sobbing quietly, and Beast Boy thought he had heard a tiny sniffle issue from Brave, but he wouldn't comment on it. Timid might appreciate his clumsy attempts at reassurance, but Brave certainly wouldn't.

Brave yelped unexpectedly and the next minute Timid and Beast Boy had joined her in a brightly lit clearing. Almost as if a curtain had been drawn in his mind, Beast Boy felt his grief instantly disperse. He glanced over his shoulder warily but the darkness was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's take five," he decided. Brave nodded, relieved, and Beast Boy turned away as she surreptitiously brushed tears from her cheek. Instead, he turned to the still trembling Timid.

"C'mon, it's okay now," he spoke bracingly, cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a comforting pat. He had barely withdrawn his hand when Timid whirled toward him and threw her arms around his neck. Beast Boy stood frozen for a moment, then awkwardly raised his hand to pat the back of her head reassuringly.

"Hey, what's up? We're better now."

"I know," Timid sobbed into his neck. "I just … I can't do that again. I _can't_."

Beast Boy peered over Timid's shoulder and met Brave's eyes. Although she would die rather than admit it, he could see that she felt the same way.

"It's okay," he soothed, pushing Timid away to look her in the eye. "We're almost there, just a little bit further now. We can handle just a few more steps, right?"

Brave lifted her chin determinedly and Timid reluctantly murmured, "Just a few more steps. Yes."

Beast Boy nodded reassuringly and silently prayed that he was right.

* * *

The locked door had opened into a new garden, practically identical to the first. The tree lined gravel path had led them directly to a second door set in a second stone wall. This door had been bordered by a complicated equation that Cyborg's inner computer had processed and solved in less than three seconds.

Upon opening this door they found themselves in yet another pristine garden, treading down yet another gravel path.

"This is getting really annoying!" Cyborg ranted, "It's like we're going in circles. How the heck do we get out of here?"

Crude shrugged, she hadn't said a word in the last ten minutes. Affection had been trying to pacify the steadily more irritable cybernetic, and Crude had grudgingly conceded that her gentler counterpart was the better person for the job.

"I mean, look! I can see another door over there, ten to one it's locked with another puzzle to solve."

"No bet," Crude commented under her breath as they approached the door.

"Great," Cyborg sighed, "this one's some kind of a poem or something."

"How sweet," Crude sneered, "let's have it, then."

"_If you break me, I do not stop working._

"_If you touch me, I may be snared._

"_If you lose me, nothing will matter._

"For the love of … we don't have time for this!"

"We could always turn around," Crude suggested for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"No dice, we've come too far to --!"

Affection had assumed a thoughtful expression, but she caught Cyborg's eye now, her mouth quirked in a sad, half-smile.

"Heart," she breathed. Her face took on a more resolute expression as she added, "seems almost prophetic or something, doesn't it?"

Crude was more blasé. "Goody," she commented flatly when the door swung silently forward on its hinges.

The three adventurers trooped boldly through the door only to stop dead on the other side. Before them was a vast, yawning ravine, its sheer sides tapering to a rocky floor several hundred feet below them.

Cyborg studied the situation for a moment. There was no visible way across, and the walls were too steep to attempt to scale.

"Do you see any way to get to the other side?" Affection ventured.

Cyborg had already considered every gadget in his personal arsenal and subsequently rejected them. "Nah. It's way too wide … you sure you guys can't levitate?"

"Pretty sure," she answered quietly.

"It doesn't make sense," Cyborg continued, "we just spent the last hour using our _brains_ to get through that place only to wind up at a dead end that our _bodies_ aren't powerful enough to get past. What's up with that?"

"Who knows?" Crude shrugged, "it's Raven's brain. She never tells me anything. I mean, if it were up to me-" Cyborg motioned for silence. He had just glimpsed an inkling of an idea, now if only he could grasp hold of it.

"Raven's brain," he mused, "What's up with that?"

"Huh?" Crude blurted.

"Nothing, just … the last time I was here … 'What's up?' I got it! I hope. Let me try this first, hang on."

Drawing a deep breath, Cyborg stepped to the edge of the canyon, stretched out a leg, and tipped forward. The next thing he knew he was walking down the side of the cliff face as easily as if he were walking down the street.

"Of course," Affection cheered, "We're so used to levitating we didn't even consider anything else."

"Yep. Just 'cause it looks real doesn't mean it is," Cyborg confirmed. "Here, at least."

"Very deep," Crude scoffed as she and Affection scrambled down the rock face after Cyborg. They walked quickly until they reached the bottom, crossed the narrow stream winding lazily through the rocks, and started up the other side.

"I've been thinking," Cyborg spoke into the companionable silence, "there's something weird going on here."

"Hmm?"

"I mean, think about it. The first door we get to, we've got that statue yelling 'be observant,' all while we're leaving footprints all over the gravel path. Then that crazy equation that would've taken anybody else forever, but my brain can crank out the answer just like that!"

"Right," Affection enthused, "then, just as we've almost had enough, we're reminded not to lose heart."

"Yep. And finally we get an obstacle that I can _remember_ the solution to 'cause I've been here before. See what I mean?"

"I do!" Affection exclaimed. "She knows! Raven, she knows you're here, she knows you're coming!"

"Exactly," Cyborg confirmed, "she's trying to make it easy for us." Affection nodded happily, her confidence restored, Crude just scowled thoughtfully. Silently, Cyborg added, _Thanks Raven. Don't you lose heart either, girl. We're here. We're coming._

* * *

Raven crouched behind a rock and surveyed her surroundings warily. She appeared to be alone but it didn't do to be careless, especially when she was so close to her destination. Carefully she stepped out into the open. When nothing happened, she ventured forward a few steps and waited.

"I'm here! Come and get me, you creep!" she shouted into the silence. Only her echo replied; she was alone. For now.

Breaking into a painful jog, Raven crossed the remaining landscape between herself and the structure looming in front of her. She was obviously the first one here but both the Titans and her other Emotions were on their way, she could feel it. So were Maug and Rage, she could sense that, too.

At last reaching the door, she flung it open and staggered inside. Pushing the door closed behind her, she leaned heavily against it for a moment before turning around and engaging the lock. Then she collapsed into a nearby chair to rest and wait.

"Hurry," she murmured into the surrounding stillness. "Please, hurry."

* * *

**Author's Note:** More of a review shout-out, really.

_iliac gurl:_ This story is based pretty firmly in the continuity of the show, no surprise romances. :)

_kerricarri:_ You rock. Thank you so much for your detailed review and for pointing out a trouble-spot.

_TexMurphy:_ I LOVE your name. Why don't they make those sort of games anymore?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The three girls had developed a system. Each time they encountered one of the wall illusions, Starfire would grab Happy's hand before she passed through the wall. Happy would grip Sad's hand and follow, half of her body in the maze and half on the other side, while Sad anchored herself as firmly as she could in the maze. None of the secret rooms had proven helpful yet, but they instinctively knew that they had to explore every possibility.

Sad watched the other two girls disappear through yet another wall, her hand held tightly in Happy's. She planted her feet and waited patiently for Happy to signal that they were ready to be pulled back through.

It wasn't long before she felt the familiar tug, and she leaned back, bracing herself in readiness. She started to pull, but a stronger tug from Happy jerked her clean off her feet. Next she knew she was tumbling to the ground on what was certainly the other side of the wall.

"No!" she cried, "Happy, what did you do? We'll never get out, now! I can't believe-"

"Stop, you doofus," Happy interrupted excitedly, "look! We've found the exit."

Sad quieted immediately. She looked around her for the first time, noticing that the walls of the maze were gone. Instead, they were back on the familiar rocky terrain suspended in a starry sky that was so prevalent in most of Raven's mind. A little further down the path Starfire was flying in ecstatic circles, clapping her hands and squealing triumphantly.

"Friends, we are victorious!" she cried, "It is glorious!" She swooped down and caught both Sad and Happy up in an enthusiastic hug. Happy giggled and returned the hug eagerly, even Sad cracked a smile.

"We may just make it after all," Sad voiced aloud.

"Silly, of course we will. We're, like, invincible now!"

Starfire disentangled herself and darted back up the path. "Come, friends!" she called, "we must hurry. Raven still needs us!" She waited to see that they were following, then turned and zoomed away, anxious to reach their destination.

Happy and Sad scrambled to catch up to her, Happy still giggling madly.

* * *

Robin almost missed the screaming. Almost.

As he and Reasonable climbed higher and higher the bouts of shrieking had gradually faded completely. The higher elevations had brought their own perils, however. Now Robin was straining his still ringing ears, listening for sounds of underground disturbance. A localized rumbling, they had discovered, was a precursor to a lethal eruption of flames. Robin was sporting a nasty burn on his elbow, and the entire right side of Reasonable's cloak had been charred irreparably. With such pressing motivation they had learned quickly how to predict the flame geysers.

There! It was starting again. The earth rumbled to their right and with a practiced motion Robin grasped Reasonable's wrist and swung them both out of harm's way.

"Thank you, Richard," Reasonable panted as they edged further from the blast.

"Any time."

Robin had proven to have almost a sixth sense for the eruptions. That and his cat-like reflexes had kept both Reasonable and himself out of the worst of the danger.

Reasonable, still rubbing her wrist, waited solemnly while Robin listened for further warnings. After a moment he nodded and the two trekked onward. Still listening warily, Robin glanced over at Reasonable with a measuring look.

"Look, what's with the Richard thing, anyway?"

Reasonable slowed and turned to face Robin, her eyebrows furrowed as she considered. "I think … it's a gesture of friendship."

"Friendship?" Robin was surprised into laughter, "But all of my friends call me Robin."

"Yes, Robin may be what you're called, but Richard is who you _are_."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"You may eventually change your identity … something about Nightwing, I think?" at this Robin grinned and shrugged, "But you will always remain Richard. I call you that because I choose to see beyond the mask you wear and acknowledge the one who makes Robin what he is. Anyone could wear your costume and claim to be Robin, but there's only one Richard."

"Huh." Robin returned his attention to the treacherous trail before them without another word, but he found himself admitting that somewhere deep within he was pleased.

A shadow fell over them, and Robin looked up to find the sun blocked by a mass of rock. "Looks like we've got another hill to climb," he commented unnecessarily, pointing out the black rise to Reasonable. They were both weary of hiking, but Robin had already rejected their other options. Under no circumstances was he willing to turn back and they certainly couldn't rest here.

Reasonable groaned quietly, but she didn't falter. Robin was impressed. '_She may be all brains, no brawn, but she's a plucky little thing_.' Reasonable caught his eye and attempted a smile. "I can make it," she said, "don't worry about me."

"I wasn't," Robin protested, "you're doing great."

As they neared the hill it quickly became apparent to Robin that it wasn't a hill at all but a black, forbidding cliff face. It soared straight up into the sky and from this distance the rock face appeared completely smooth, almost polished. "Great," he muttered, "How do we climb that?"

To his astonishment, Reasonable began to smile. "We must have reached the border," she said, "finally."

The ground shifted suddenly under their feet and Robin dove out of the way, taking Reasonable with him, just as a jet of steam and fire shot out of the very spot they had been standing. They waited where they had fallen, silently watching the geyser of flames as it burnt itself out.

Robin reached down to help Reasonable up from where she had tumbled and waited patiently while she brushed herself off. "That was … close," she ventured quietly.

"Yeah, I think I felt my eyebrows singe," he remarked with a rueful smile. "Good thing we're almost out of here." He remained tense, alert for any further sign of eruption, but they covered the last few hundred yards to the cliff face without further interruption.

"Okay," Robin began, "here's the thing: I'm gonna try to use my grappling hook but if the top of the cliff is out of range I'll make my way up alone, then I can figure out how to pull you up behind—" Reasonable was shaking her head in disagreement, smiling serenely.

"There's no need for that. I can easily make my way up the cliff."

"I don't think so," Robin answered flatly. "You're already tired, and you don't have your abilities to help you out. If it helps, I wouldn't have let Raven try it in that condition, either."

"No, Richard," she said firmly, "you don't understand."

Robin grunted irritably, but quirked an eyebrow in a silent request for explanation.

"This part will seem a bit strange," Reasonable began as she approached the base of the cliff. "Just remember that in Raven's mind, reality is how you perceive it."

"Um, okay."

"Just … do what I do," Reasonable advised. With no further instruction she stepped up to the wall, tilted backward, and began to walk straight up.

"What the—?" Robin managed. "Uh, Reasonable. I can't _do_ that."

"Yes, you can," she called over her shoulder. "Just try it. Trust me."

Robin shrugged and approached the wall, planting one foot firmly on the cliff face. He hesitated only a moment, then drew his other foot up to join the first. The sensation was strange, suddenly his entire perspective shifted to accommodate him. Behind him, the ground they had just covered towered endlessly into the sky; ahead of him, the cliff face stretched out smoothly.

Robin was amazed. He could see the top of the cliff from here, their goal was easily within reach. He jogged toward Reasonable, slowing to keep pace with her when he reached her side. "This is amazing," he told her, "I had no idea. How else can we use this to our advantage?"

Reasonable pondered this. "I hadn't considered it," she admitted, "I'm not used to viewing Raven's mind strategically."

"Maybe not," Robin told her firmly, "but we need to start."

They were mere yards from the edge of the cliff when the world shifted. Robin pitched forward against the cliff face, hands scrabbling desperately for a handhold. Beside him, Reasonable started to slide backward as gravity fought to pull her toward the foot of the cliff. He reached out and caught her wrist just as his other hand found purchase.

Stunned, they hung for a moment, neither willing to risk disturbing their tenuous hold. "What happened?" Robin questioned weakly when he had recovered his voice.

"I don't know," Reasonable moaned, "I don't understand. Perspective should not have reasserted itself until we had reached the top. Perhaps … perhaps Rage had something to do with it."

"Rage? What do you mean?"

"This is Rage's home, this is where Rage wields the most power. Perhaps she felt us here and is trying to stop us from proceeding."

"I see." Robin shifted a bit and guided Reasonable's hand to a safer handhold. "Can you hang onto that?" he asked, "I'm going to get us to the top."

Reasonable nodded and Robin released her wrist. Carefully, he fingered his grappling hook and pulled it out of its holster. He took aim, pulled the trigger, then listened as the hook skittered across the loose stones at the top of the cliff. Finally it came to rest in a crack not two feet from the top and Robin tugged on the rope experimentally. Satisfied that it would hold he turned to Reasonable once again.

"You ready?" he asked. Reasonable nodded bravely and Robin helped her twine an arm around his neck. "Okay, here we go," he warned, and he pressed the retract button. Robin's stomach dropped as they swung out from the cliff face and began their rapid ascent. Determinedly not looking down, he silently prayed that the rope would hold.

Their luck held. When they neared the overhang Robin reached up and grasped the edge then turned to look Reasonable in the eye. "You ready for this? I'm gonna lift you up first."

"Ready," Reasonable confirmed. Grunting with the effort, Robin heaved Reasonable toward the top of the cliff. For several seconds he supported her weight while she scrambled to clamber over the edge.

With an unnatural abruptness Reasonable's weight was lifted from his shoulders and Robin heard her squeal in surprise. Frantically he reached up to grab at her ankle but she had already been whisked over the edge and out of sight.

"Reasonable?" he called out in panic, "Are you okay? What's going on?" He heaved himself up the last few feet and peered over the edge hoping to ascertain Reasonable's whereabouts. He found his view blocked by a monstrous figure, its back to the sun.

"Stay back!" Robin warned as the creature crouched down before him. His anger melted into surprise when the mysterious figure chuckled in a familiar timbre and offered him its hand.

Its decidedly metallic hand.

"Cyborg?"

* * *

When the rain started again the trio of weary adventurers lurched to their feet and began trudging down the trail once more. Beast Boy couldn't remember having ever been this tired before. Admittedly the day hadn't been physically strenuous, but the journey through Sad's forests, not to mention his worry for his friends, had definitely taken an emotional toll on him. He was even hearing things again thanks to his frayed nerves.

When Beast Boy realized he was dwelling on his problems, he forced his morose thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on Brave and Timid instead. Timid especially looked even worse than he felt. She was barely lifting her feet as she walked and even as he watched she stumbled over a non-existent obstacle. Brave didn't seem to be faring much better, though she continued to hold her chin high, her arms swinging at her sides.

"So … Brave," Beast Boy spoke into the silence, "what's with you and green, anyway?"

Brave looked confused. "Huh?" she expressed eloquently.

"The cloak, the outfit, the whole theme you've got going on. Why green? What does green have to do with being brave?" Here he waggled his eyebrows cheekily, "Any relation to yours truly?"

Brave stared at him blankly for a moment, then she shook her head and answered his grin with one of her own. "Uh, no," she said with false arrogance, "I've worn green since before Raven ever met you … guess you've got a lot to live up to."

Not bad, she was a bit rusty but at least she was playing along. Beast Boy glared at her in mock irritation and inclined his head toward Timid's. "I dunno," he stage whispered dubiously, "she talks big, but she _is_ just a girl."

Brave raised her eyebrows dangerously while Timid hid a smile behind her hand. "Okay. Listen here, shorty," Brave began, but Beast Boy just grinned as he morphed into a chicken and fluttered into Timid's arms.

"That's what I thought!" Brave crowed, dusting her hands together. "Now who's all talk?" She turned on her heel, still smiling faintly, and strode further down the path.

A feathered Beast Boy launched himself out of Timid's arms and landed with two human feet on the trail. He adopted an affected pose for a moment, hands on his hips, nose in the air, then he dusted his own hands together and turned to follow Brave.

Behind him he heard Timid vainly try to suppress a giggle and when she caught up to him he flashed her a grin and a wink. "I can hear you guys giggling back there!" Brave called. "Don't think I won't leave your sorry butts in the dust."

"I don't giggle," Beast Boy retorted, feigning offense.

Brave shrugged, "Coulda fooled me."

Beast Boy growled at her retreating back, but felt a quick stab of satisfaction. It was still raining miserably, cold trickles of water kept running into his eyes and down the back of his neck, but Brave had regained some spring in her step and even Timid was trotting along briskly now. Mission accomplished.

* * *

Cyborg pulled Robin to his feet before nearly driving him to his knees with a friendly slap on the back. "Yo, Robin! Man, am I glad to see you again."

"Yeah," Robin grunted, "me too. Are the others nearby?"

Cyborg sobered. "Naw. You're the first Titan I've seen since I got here." His human eye brightened a bit when he added, "but I did run into Crude and Affection, here."

"Who—?" Robin managed, before a flurry of violet cloak and hair obscured his vision and answered his question. The eager girl bounced up and down on her toes for a moment before flinging her arms around his neck for a quick squeeze, then pushing away again to beam at him.

"I'm guessing you're Affection," Robin deduced with a wry smile. The girl nodded in agreement and opened her mouth to speak when her orange-clothed counterpart shoved her aside.

"And I'm Crude. Don't mind Affection, she slobbers all over everybody." She scrutinized Robin closely before continuing, "Wow, you look terrible. You get your butt kicked?"

"Now, now," Cyborg stepped in, "you've been such a good girl, no need to start misbehaving now."

The third Emotion laid a hand on Robin's shoulder and scolded, "Manners, Crude. We've just been through Rage's home. She's getting stronger." She dismissed Crude with a glare and turned to Cyborg, "Thank you again for assisting me. I believe I neglected to introduce myself. I'm Reasonable."

Cyborg's giant hand enfolded her tiny one gently, "Pleased to meet you, Reasonable. I'm-"

"Victor. Yes, I know," Reasonable smiled.

Robin chuckled at Cyborg's raised eyebrow. "She keeps doing that. You start to get used to it." He sobered and continued, "We should get going, Reasonable says she knows where to find Raven."

"What about B.B. and Star?" Cyborg queried. Robin hesitated, then squared his shoulders in determination

"I'd like to find Starfire and Beast Boy, but we have to make getting to Raven a priority."

Crude snorted and readied a comment, but Cyborg clapped a hand over her mouth. Robin ignored her squeak of protest and continued, "Besides, they'll know not to wait around for us. If they're okay, we're more likely to meet up with them at Raven's location."

The group continued on with renewed purpose and it wasn't long before they reached the next crossroads. "Which way, now?" Robin asked the quietly conversing Emotions. The three girls, after a hurried consultation, pointed unanimously to the left fork.

"Great job, thanks," Robin praised them, springing once more into action. He was summarily jerked to a halt when Cyborg reached out to grip his shoulder warningly.

"I could be wrong," Cyborg explained, pointing into the distance, "but I think he has other ideas."

Several hundred feet ahead of them, its body melting into the rocky background, a threatening figure waited. Two if its four clawed hands gripped a pair of evil looking swords. Robin could feel distinct waves of menace issuing from the creature as it stared stonily at them, its four red eyes unblinking.

"What _is_ that?" Robin questioned uncertainly.

"Another of Trigon's old creations," Reasonable replied quietly, "not terribly dangerous normally, but without our abilities …"

"Not to worry, we've got it covered," Cyborg interrupted.

Affection grabbed his arm warningly, "Be careful, he can attack from both sides."

Cyborg smiled down at her and patted her hand gently, "Don't worry about me, sweetie. This guy and I have met before. He's goin' down."

* * *

Happy and Sad were puffing and panting when they finally caught up to Starfire. She had reached yet another fork and was flitting up and down the unmarked pathways in an agitated manner.

"No fair," Happy pointed out, gasping for breath, "you can fly. We can't."

"I am most apologetic," Starfire admitted contritely, "I was anxious to reach Raven as quickly as possible, but I am confused again. Which direction must we go?"

Sad and Happy looked about carefully, then conferred with each other quietly. Starfire wrung her hands impatiently and tried not to distract them.

"That way," Sad finally decided, pointing to the path leading to the right. "We're pretty sure it's that way."

"Pretty sure?" Starfire asked desperately, "You are not certain?"

"Well, we can't feel Raven as clearly as before. I think she's weakening," Sad explained.

At Starfire's horrified expression, Happy added, "But she's still okay, just tired. Really. We think." Starfire still looked doubtful, but Happy grasped her hand firmly and steered her in the right direction.

Hardly a minute had passed when they became aware of a commotion behind them. They looked around confusedly as the disturbance came closer and closer, Sad was becoming visibly agitated and Starfire grasped her wrist in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

"We should go," Sad croaked, "quickly. I think I know what's coming."

Starfire didn't waste time questioning the meaning of her ominous statement, hastily she grabbed Happy's elbow with her free hand and started to drag the two girls down their chosen path.

It was no use; the sound was following and gaining on them. They would have to stand and confront whatever it was. At the distinctive sound of crunching gravel Starfire whirled around to face their attacker and promptly loosed a strangled gasp. She was greeted with the sight of two identical girls clinging wildly to the neck of a decidedly green horse – a horse that was bearing down on her at breakneck speed.

"Go, go!" the twin riders shouted, the one in back risking her precarious seat to wave her hands at Starfire in warning. Starfire hesitated, she didn't see a pursuer and Beast Boy _was_ known for his mindless pranks.

The horse skidded to a stop mere feet from Starfire; the two riders tumbled to the ground as it morphed back into the familiar green-skinned boy. Beast Boy's familiar grin, however, was conspicuously absent as he grabbed Starfire by the shoulders in a panic.

"Run, Star! We've got to get out of here!"

"What is wrong? I am happy to see you again, have you seen Robin or Cyborg or-?"

"No time, Star. C'mon, we've gotta go." Starfire saw that the other girls had already dashed away, further up the path. Beast Boy tried to drag her along with him but Starfire planted her feet and regarded him firmly.

"This is not the time for pranks, Beast Boy," she began, but he shook his head vigorously.

"No joke. I think they've been following me the whole time. Look!" He pointed in the direction he had come from and Starfire turned in time to see a giant black cloud emerging from the darkness.

Starfire experienced a sharp pang of fear as the mysterious cloud rushed toward them. It was accompanied by a pervasive rustling, it sounded almost like …

Wings. The black cloud was actually a dense flock of black birds. Normally Starfire was quite found of birds, but something about these birds struck her as positively evil; she considered that the double set of red eyes that each possessed might have something to do with that. She shrieked shrilly and finally allowed Beast Boy to pull her away, but it was too late. They were already surrounded.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Here he comes!" Cyborg warned.

Robin gestured to the Emotions, "Stay back, Cyborg and I'll take care of this guy." Reasonable nodded and, gripping Crude and Affection's elbows, dragged the girls toward the nearby protection of a stunted, gnarled tree.

"So how do we deal with it?" Robin demanded as he took his place beside Cyborg. The pair watched grimly as the monster, eager to engage in combat, rapidly glided toward them.

Cyborg gritted his teeth, "Dunno. Grind it into dust, I guess."

"You guess? I thought you said you'd fought this thing before."

"I _did_, but I didn't finish it off. B.B. and I were getting our butts kicked when Brave showed up and split the thing in two."

"Great," Robin glowered, whipping out his bo staff, "if you and Beast Boy couldn't do it …"

"I didn't say we _couldn't_," Cyborg quickly corrected. "It caught us off guard, is all. This time we're ready for it."

The creature was in range now. With a roar Robin sprang forward to meet it, assaulting the monster with a flurry of crushing strikes. The monster retaliated quickly and Robin was forced to twist away to avoid the pair of flashing swords.

"Cyborg!" Robin commanded, but the cybernetic was already in position. A flash of blue light streaked past and a sonic blast hit the creature with a low boom.

The monster skidded backward a few feet but recovered almost immediately and lunged, swords extended, at Cyborg. Cyborg sidestepped, but not quickly enough and the screech of metal meeting metal filled the air. Cyborg bellowed angrily as he smashed a fist into the monster's jaw; the force rocked the creature backward, off-balance. Robin executed a flying kick that sent the monster slamming into a nearby boulder.

"Damage?" Robin panted.

Cyborg took advantage of the brief lull to examine his chest where the monster had slashed him. "Superficial. Now what?"

"We finish him off."

"Sure, but how? We haven't even dented this guy." Robin shrugged and rushed forward to reengage the monster. At his approach, the creature spun about and began swiftly gliding in the opposite direction. "He's running! What the—?"

"Catch him!" Robin cried. Cyborg lurched forward and thundered after his friend in pursuit but the creature pulled away from them effortlessly.

A girl's panicked scream filled the air and Robin put on a burst of speed. Ahead of them, Affection ducked and swerved frantically as the monster bore down on her. She stumbled, landing on her knees, just as a sword sliced through the air above her head.

"Cyborg!" Robin called desperately.

Cyborg readied his sonic cannon, but a blur of orange caught his eye and he quickly lowered it again. With a primal yell Crude leapt onto the monster, throwing one arm around its neck while jamming her fingers into its eyes. The creature reached around and snatched her away, viciously throwing her to the ground. It raised its swords to slice the prone girl into pieces.

"Hey eight-eyes! Pick on me!"

Robin's kick knocked a sword from the creature's hand and the weapon skittered away across the stony ground. Affection, still on her hands and knees, rolled Crude out of the way; Cyborg barreled into the creature shoulder first, driving it backward almost ten feet.

"Good idea, keep pushing him."

Cyborg dodged a downward sword thrust and shoved the monster once more before rolling out of the way. Robin jumped in with a vicious attack, deftly deflecting the creature's wildly swinging weapon with his staff. The creature staggered backward further still in the face of Robin's frenzy, closer and closer to the edge of the stony path. Cyborg readied his cannon.

"Now!" Robin shouted, and Cyborg fired.

For a moment the creature teetered on the brink, then with a groan the ground at its feet shuddered and crumbled away and the monster pitched backward into space. Panting, Robin bent forward and braced his hands on his knees as he silently watched the creature spiral away into the starry abyss.

Cyborg joined him as he peered over the edge. "Well, whaddaya know? I thought for sure he'd just fall back toward us, seeing as gravity's kinda optional here."

"Yeah, but I was thinking … if Rage could feel our presence and control reality inside her own territory, maybe Raven could do the same kind of thing."

"Hmm, pretty risky, but it looks like you were right. So it wasn't just my imagination, she really can tell we're coming." Cyborg cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, "Hey Raven! Way to go!"

Robin scoffed, "She can't hear you, you know."

"How do you know? She knows we're here."

"Yeah, but that's only because she can feel a … a psychic disturbance."

"Says who? Maybe she's got us up on a giant view screen right now." Cyborg waved his arms at the vast expanse of nothingness and cheerfully called out, "Hiya, girl!"

The Emotions approached slowly. Affection had Crude's arm pulled across her shoulders, guiding her gently. Reasonable was shaking her head at Cyborg's antics. "The creature is not gone for good, of course. Eventually it'll find its way back. We need to be gone when it does."

"Good point," Robin agreed.

"And Raven can't actually see you, Victor. She senses you on more of a psychic level."

Robin smirked at Cyborg's sheepish expression.

"Man, don't even say it."

"I don't think I need to."

* * *

"Why are they so angry? What have you done to them?" Starfire shouted accusingly as she pushed her wildly whipping hair out of her eyes.

"Nothing! I swear," Beast Boy retorted before morphing into a large bird of prey. He soared into the cloud of black feathers and razor sharp talons, snapping at everything within reach.

Brave, her arms protecting her head, waded into the fray to stand beside Starfire. "It's true. They've been following us the entire time, I think they're trying to stop us from getting to Raven."

"Then perhaps we are close," Starfire concluded, flinging starbolts at random targets. "We must not waste any more time here, we must go now!"

Beast Boy landed beside her, regaining his natural shape. "Uh, easier said than done, Star. Besides, don't you think we should get rid of these guys first? I don't want to lead them to Raven." He batted away a few attackers while Starfire considered his words.

"You are certain they mean Raven harm? I do not wish to injure them if they are merely pets."

"Trust me," Brave had to shout to make herself heard as the birds clustered around them tightly, "they're nothing but a menace!"

"Very well." A green ball of energy formed in Starfire's hands, rapidly growing in size until it encompassed her entire body. As an afterthought, she turned to Beast Boy and Brave, warning, "Perhaps you should take cover."

The pair dove to the ground just as the ball of green energy exploded outward. Lying prone in the dirt Beast Boy couldn't see what was happening, but after the initial rush of air he was struck by the noticeable absence of sound. Cautiously, he raised his head and looked around.

He was surrounded by a carpet of black feathers; the birds themselves were lying naked in heaps. With a laugh, Beast Boy sprang to his feet, "You did it! Nice going, Star."

Starfire held out a hand to Brave and helped her upright. "I did not kill them, did I?"

"Nope, they're just stunned. But they shouldn't cause us any more trouble until those feathers grow back."

Beast Boy grinned at Starfire approvingly and she returned an unsure smile of her own. "I am sorry I believed you were trying to trick me," she admitted. "I should have known you would not joke about something so important."

"No big deal, it does kinda sound like me. Besides, I'm just happy to run into part of the team."

"Yoo-hoo!"

They turned their heads at Happy's call to see her and the other two Emotions waving frantically to gain their attention. "I think we've found the others! We just saw Cyborg, and Timid is almost positive she caught sight of Robin just ahead."

"Awesome! C'mon Star, I can't wait to tell them about-" Beast Boy stopped when he realized he was talking to himself. Starfire was already gone, leaving Happy, Sad and Timid's cloaks blowing backward in her wake.

* * *

"Hey, look," Cyborg pointed, "looks like Starfire's finally found us."

"Really?" Robin whirled around to face the approaching redhead. "Great, I'll just … I'll make sure she's okay," he explained distractedly as he bounded toward her.

He had to wait to greet her, however, since Affection had beaten him to his target. "Starfire," the girl exclaimed, "I've missed you! Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Starfire returned Affection's hug without hesitation. "I have missed you as well, dear friend. Which part of Raven are you?"

"That's Affection," Robin grinned. "She loves everything and everyone. You guys'll get along great."

Starfire colored prettily and stepped away from Affection. "Robin! I was worried about you. Is everything well?"

"I'm good, Star. How—" he was abruptly cut off when the alien girl leapt forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Robin hesitated only a moment before folding his own arms around her, drawing her even closer.

"Hey," he spoke softly, "what's wrong? You sure you're okay?"

Starfire nodded against his shoulder. "Yes," she breathed in his ear, "it's only … I felt fear for you. I am relieved to find you safe."

"Me too, Star," he replied contentedly. Cyborg had joined them, but Robin allowed himself to hold her for a few seconds longer before releasing her and taking a step backward. "So … hey. You, Cyborg and I are here, we just need to find Beast Boy."

"Oh! I have neglected to tell you! Beast Boy is right behind me, he is with the others."

"Others?"

"Yes. Happy and Sad and Brave and Timid."

"Goody!" Affection cheered, "I think that's all of us, Raven will be thrilled."

"Great," Cyborg grinned, "and looky here, here comes B.B. now."

A tall, green camel carrying four colorfully attired girls was trotting swiftly toward them. When it reached the group it lumbered to a halt and knelt to allow the riders to slide to the ground. A few seconds later, the camel had been replaced with a still kneeling Beast Boy who was now grinning cheerfully at his friends.

"B.B. bro, you made it!"

"Yeah, I see you guys did okay even without my help. I – hey!" Affection had made her way through the crowd surrounding the green-skinned boy and had flung her arms around his neck.

"You're safe," Affection sighed happily, "I'm glad."

"Uh, yeah," Beast Boy patted the girl's back awkwardly. "I … look. What's with all the hugging?"

Cyborg laughed as the girl released Beast Boy, "Affection hugs everybody. You'll get used to it."

"I don't know about that, it hasn't happened so far," Beast Boy grumbled.

Reasonable sighed and spoke up, "I don't understand this compulsion to engage in pointless small talk. Could we please focus?"

Robin gave himself a much needed mental shake and frowned in concentration. "Right. Let's go, team."

"Um, Rob? Which way you want us to go?"

"That way, of course." Reasonable was pointing to yet another path that Robin could have sworn hadn't been there seconds ago. "We are almost there." The path stretched ahead of them in a straight line as it hung suspended in the night sky. In the distance, Robin thought he caught a glint of light reflecting off of … something.

Reasonable stepped toward Robin and laid a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be there soon," her voice was quiet confidence, "I can sense it." As far as Robin was concerned, it couldn't be soon enough.

* * *

Raven groaned and stretched cautiously. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but she had a pang in her neck from remaining curled up in the chair for so long and she gingerly rolled her shoulder to ease the pain. Trying to ignore the discomfort, Raven concentrated instead on locating Maug and Rage.

"Great," she muttered. They were apparently together, and they were close. Raven wasn't sure how much time she had, but Rage and Maug were sure to be here within the hour and she wasn't even close to constructing a foolproof plan.

Raven searched her mind again in an attempt to locate the Titans and her remaining Emotions. If only they could get here first, she might stand a chance. If they couldn't … well, she'd just have to make due.

She could see them now, and she couldn't be sure, but … yes. A quick tally revealed that all of her friends and facets were together and they seemed to be close. Very close.

Raven's mind snapped back to her present location as her eyes lit up. She didn't even bother to hide her relieved smile as she shot to her feet and headed further into the interior. She needed to make sure everything was ready.

Her friends weren't just close, they were here.

* * *

The silence was palpable as the Titans stared at the apparition before them. By now they were accustomed to seeing the odd and the inexplicable tucked away in the corners of Raven's mind, but they all would have agreed that the sight before them was the last one they would have expected.

"Would you look at that," Cyborg finally breathed in awe.

"It's beautiful!" Starfire agreed, her hands clasped together in barely contained joy.

"And it's so shiny," Beast Boy added, "it never glows like that in real life."

Crude nodded smugly as the Titans stared wide-eyed at Raven's very own idealized version of Titan's Tower. "I told you you'd recognize it when we got here."

"Why the Tower?" Robin turned to Reasonable, "Why would _this_ be at the center of Raven's mind?"

Reasonable opened her mouth, then shut it again. Finally she replied, "I think you'd better ask Raven that."

"Do you think she's really in there?" Beast Boy asked in a hushed voice, "It looks kinda deserted."

"Yeah, and where's Rage? I don't wanna run into that chick if I don't have to."

"She isn't here, yet," Reasonable assured Cyborg, "she's close, but we have some time." Turning to Beast Boy she added, "Raven is here, Garfield. She's waiting for us."

"Okay, then. Let's all get inside!" Robin commanded. As one, the entire group slipped and slid down the rocky rise and made for the tower. The door swung open with a creak at their approach and Cyborg laughed.

"Raven has something against our automatic doors? What's with the hinges?"

"She doesn't like the way they whoosh," Affection admitted, wrinkling her nose. "She says they remind her of _Space Trek_."

"Hey, what's wrong with –?!" but Beast Boy broke off in mid-protest when Starfire grabbed his hands and swung him around in a circle.

"Is this not wonderful? There is so much light and color! Perhaps we could explore?"

"Not right now, Starfire," Robin smiled, "we should get upstairs." As he spoke a chime rang out and the elevator doors at the end of the entryway slid open.

Cyborg grinned, "Looks like our ride's here."

The entire group filed into the cab and the doors closed smoothly behind them. It was a tight fit and Beast Boy found himself unreasonably wishing that Raven's Emotions didn't possess quite so many collective elbows. Before Robin could decide which button was most likely to bring them to Raven, the elevator lurched and automatically began its ascent.

When the elevator stopped the doors opened on an exact replica of Titans Tower's common room. Beast Boy looked around in awe, it was just like being home again except that the dishes were clean and tucked away and the Gamestation was accumulating a fine layer of dust.

Raven was standing at the window, but she turned around when the crowd entered the room. "Hi," she ventured, waving almost sheepishly. For a moment Beast Boy thought she looked just like Timid.

Then Starfire streaked across the room and caught her friend up in an enthusiastic hug. "You are safe!"

"I am," Raven agreed, smiling faintly.

"And now that we are all together we can defeat the evil wizard and bring you home!"

Raven sobered, "We can try, of course. But I think that now would be a good time to send the four of you back."

"Look Raven –" Cyborg began, but Raven waved her hand for silence.

"Now that I've got my Emotions with me, I can probably manage Maug and Rage by myself, and –"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. What's our plan?" Beast Boy interrupted. "We all know that your power isn't all that right now, so what do we need to do?"

"Beast Boy's right," Robin agreed. "We didn't come all the way here just to go home before the fun begins."

Raven smiled at her friends gratefully, "Thank you. I think … I think that if you four take on Rage, I can probably deal with Maug. My powers aren't completely gone, and with all of my Emotions combined …"

"Great," Robin grinned approvingly. "Just let us know when you're ready."

* * *

She had intended to meditate for a little longer, but she was finding it impossible to concentrate. It didn't matter, Raven knew she was prepared. She glanced around the room at her companions and allowed herself a tiny smile, it felt almost like home now.

On the sofa, Cyborg and Beast Boy had commandeered the Gamestation. They were patiently teaching Brave the complicated button combinations while Timid, Crude, Happy and Affection clustered around, each waiting anxiously for their turn.

In the kitchen behind her, Raven could hear Robin and Reasonable discussing strategy in what she was pleased to discover was not merely a one-sided conversation. Robin obviously respected Reasonable's analysis of the situation and seemed to genuinely value her input. Raven knew that the battle plans were in good hands.

In the far corner of the room Starfire and Sad huddled together talking quietly. Raven couldn't hear the words but Sad's usual melancholy wasn't nearly as apparent. It looked like even Sad found Starfire infectious enthusiasm hard to resist.

It soon became obvious that Starfire had convinced Sad to join the rest of the Emotions at the Gamestation and Raven groaned inwardly. Her Emotions were providing Beast Boy with plenty of ammunition, next time he begged her to play a video game she would need to come up with a better excuse than ignorance of the game. As Sad and Starfire approached Brave immediately scooted over and pushed the controller into Sad's hands. "Hey Sad," Beast Boy greeted her cheerfully, "ready for some fun?"

Sad blinked at him solemnly, "I'm Sad. I don't do fun." Cyborg laughed, but Beast Boy just grinned confidently.

"Maybe not yet, but if I can make Timid smile there's still hope." Raven sincerely doubted it, but she had to applaud Beast Boy's persistence, although she silently cursed her Emotions for encouraging him.

She watched covertly for a few minutes more, pleased to see Brave leaning over Sad, supplementing the boys' instructions and advice. Brave and Sad had never gotten along and such quiet camaraderie was rare. Brave had no problem dealing with Timid, the two were polar opposites and their complete inability to comprehend the other's motivations kept their relationship on a shallow but amiable level. Sad, however, affected Brave profoundly. It made sense, in a way. Joy, love, even anger, could all serve to incite courage, but Raven knew it was almost impossible to be brave in the midst of overwhelming sorrow.

Her muscles were beginning to stiffen again so Raven stretched lazily and unfolded her legs. Cyborg glanced over and acknowledged her with a wave and Starfire, who was leaning over the back of the sofa, straightened up and moved to join Raven.

"Have you had sufficient time to meditate?"

Raven didn't even have to consider before responding in the affirmative. Even after spending so little time in meditation her spirit felt remarkably refreshed. She knew that the arrival of her friends, alleviating her earlier hopelessness, had everything to do with it.

"I'm ready. Let's get the Emotions together."

Cyborg set his game controller aside and stood up. "Then I guess it's time to say goodbye."

The faint regret emanating from Cyborg and the others stopped Raven in her tracks. It was odd to think that her friends had formed attachments to mere segments of her personality, regardless of their realistic physical manifestations. She regretted once again her inability to communicate her feelings. Her Emotions could express themselves freely, if monotonously, and the experience must have been quite the novelty for her friends.

Starfire began making the rounds, fiercely hugging each Emotion in turn while Cyborg grinned and made a beeline for Crude who was standing sulkily off to the side.

"Great to meet you, girl," he said, snatching up and shaking her hand vigorously, "Don't you worry, I'll remember to nag Raven about you every chance I get."

Raven rolled her eyes; it wasn't as if Crude needed any more encouragement. The Emotion had brightened considerably, however, and bestowed a sloppy kiss on Cyborg's cheek as she crowed, "Gee, thanks Borgie! Man, you and me, we sure kicked ass, didn't we?"

Robin turned to Reasonable and gripped both of her shoulders. "Thanks for all the help; I couldn't have done it without you. Oh, and about that _Richard_ thing?" It surprised Raven to see Reasonable flush slightly as she nodded uncertainly, "It turns out I don't really mind after all."

Raven was relieved to see her Emotions behaving themselves for the most part; it looked like she might get out of this with minimal embarrassment. There was a tense moment when Affection insisted on supplementing each of her goodbye hugs with a declaration of undying love, but the Titans all took her words in stride.

"So this is it?" Robin asked as he neared Raven, "You sure you're ready to go?"

She was sure. Surrounded by her friends in what could pass for the place she loved most in the world, she felt ready to take on anything. "Let's get outside. I'm going to need some space."

* * *

The entire party trooped up the stairs to the roof of the Tower. Robin insisted that the Titans venture out first, secure the area, and signal to Raven that she and the Emotions could follow. To Raven it seemed like an unnecessary precaution but she understood Robin's need to take charge as well as the Titans' desires to keep the vulnerable Emotions safe for as long as possible.

Raven waited obediently for Cyborg's wave and then led her group to the center of the rooftop. Hastily the Emotions formed a tight circle around Raven, some looking nervously over their shoulders for signs of Rage.

"She's here," Reasonable murmured, "I can feel her."

Raven nodded, she had already located Rage and Maug in a nearby ravine. Perhaps they were hoping to ambush Raven and her friends as they exited the tower. Raven knew she needed to move quickly before the wizard and unstable Emotion caught sight of them.

Reasonable cleared her throat and eyed Raven significantly; there was no time to waste. Raven closed her eyes and concentrated, moving and twisting her body into the complicated series of positions the ritual required. Vaguely, she heard Cyborg tease, "Way to be flexible, Rave" and Robin's sharp reply, but she spared them only the most fleeting of thoughts. She'd have to remember to dismember Cyborg later.

Next came a surge of power and her Emotions began revolving around her faster and faster until their colorful forms blurred together. It was time. Raven pulled them toward her, inhaling sharply as though to breathe them in. There was a loud crack and the cyclonic breeze immediately died plunging the world into silence once again.

Raven opened her eyes and looked down at her friends. She noted with amusement the shocked expressions on Robin and Starfire's faces at her new persona. Cyborg and Beast Boy took it more in stride, but then they had seen her like this before. Raven now glowed with a pure white light and towered over her friends, even Cyborg barely reached her knees.

She could feel new power pumping through her veins. Maug may have succeeded in blocking most of her power but with what she had gained from her Emotions it just might be enough.

"I'm ready," she boomed, the corners of her mouth turned up in a sarcastic smile. "Come on out, Rage."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The attack was furious and almost instantaneous. With a feral growl Rage leapt onto the roof and into their midst, lashing out at Robin who only managed to escape injury by virtue of some very impressive footwork.

A green triceratops careened into the red-cloaked Emotion, knocking her sideways and directly into a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. Rage dropped to her knees but was on her feet again immediately. She loosed a blast of power into Beast Boy, driving him into Cyborg, and the boys collapsed into a crumpled heap.

"You!" Rage shrieked, turning to Raven, "_Your_ weakness started this, and now _I_ will put an end to it!" She leapt toward Raven in fury but Robin quickly stepped in to intercept her. "Even now you will not face me! You hide behind your friends because you know you cannot defeat me on your own!"

"What are you waiting for, Raven?" Robin grunted, straining to wrestle Rage to the ground, "We've got this, get out of here!"

Raven hesitated; the urge to take on Rage herself was surprisingly strong. Rage was her responsibility, her burden, and she had never intended to share this side of herself with her friends. She struggled internally for a moment, but reason kicked in and she gave in to it bitterly. Raven knew she would have to trust her friends to subdue Rage, without her abilities she had no hope of winning by herself. She had her own job to do. Before she could reconsider she launched herself off the edge of the roof.

The earth beneath her feet trembled when she touched down behind Maug. Raven was pleased to sense confusion and fear in the man for a split second before he managed to smother the emotions. "This has gone too far, it stops now!" she boomed and Maug seemed to shrink a little.

"D-don't be foolish! I, Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World, am too strong for the likes of you." Raven curled her hands into fists and Maug took an involuntary step backward. "You may have increased in size, but I have removed your power and you still cannot harm me. Once Rage has defeated your friends she will come after you, then she and I together will take you down." His words were gloating, but Raven could still sense a faint undercurrent of worry.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Raven mocked, "Or can't you manage it?"

"I choose not to concern myself with such minor details," Maug replied loftily. "Your time will come."

"Well, until it does you don't mind if I try to stop you, do you?" Raven didn't wait for a reply. With effort she summoned a sphere of black energy and threw it toward Maug, surrounding him with dark power.

"How did you –?" Maug began, then collected himself as the black orb remained just outside of his own force field, "It matters not. You should have remembered that you cannot touch me."

Raven couldn't have answered if she wanted to. I took all of her concentration to maintain the black glow now surrounding Maug, able to touch but not penetrate his protective shield. Maug sneered at her, but his superior smile dropped when he realized what was happening. Raven's sphere was shrinking and Maug's shield was ever so slowly yielding under the pressure.

"I – I'll be crushed!" he cried.

Raven ignored him and focused her will on the steadily shrinking sphere. Maug's expression hardened and his lips curled into a snarl. Raven cried out as her sphere shattered outward and she was thrown backward by a violent burst of energy.

"You've convinced me," Maug growled up at her as the air around him crackled dangerously, "I'll have to finish you off myself."

* * *

As far as brawls went, this one seemed especially brutal. Robin hadn't realized that Raven had it in her to move so quickly, hit so hard, hurt so mercilessly. He felt like he'd been dodging kicks, punches and energy bolts for hours now, and he'd barely landed a blow. He hoped that Raven was successfully defeating Maug because he wasn't sure how long the rest of the team could hold out.

"This is ridiculous," Cyborg panted, "when this is all over Raven had better be springing for pizza."

"I'll just be happy if I get out of this without losing a limb," Beast Boy shot back, dodging a blast of black energy. "This girl throws _hard!_"

"Let's just hope Raven's got a handle on Maug, otherwise we're really in trouble." A lucky punch caught Rage under the chin and she turned on Robin, her lips curled back in a snarl. He leapt away again, but not before losing a piece of his sleeve to the girl's vicious teeth.

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin noticed the green glow leave Starfire's hands as she ceased her attack and came to a halt, hovering a safe distance from the heart of the battle, "What I do not understand is why you would allow yourself to become enslaved to such a one as Maug." She had addressed herself to Rage, and the Emotion rounded on her.

"I am not a slave! He has empowered me because the rest are weak and I am the most deserving. It is my right to rule over them!" Rage flung an energy blast at Starfire, but the alien girl whirled away.

"And yet Maug plans to rule over all and to use you to do his will. Will you not then be his servant?"

Rage seemed to consider this for a moment, then she sneered scornfully. "I will do as I please. Once I am in control of Raven's mind I will have no more use for him."

Robin shook his head, "Then he'll just take your powers away again. The only reason he's helping you right now is because he needs Raven."

Starfire nodded vigorously. "Yes! We are your true friends. We do not seek to control you, only to help our friend. Would it not be better to work in harmony with those who care about you than under the rule of one you dislike?"

"I will do what I must to get what I desire!" Rage snarled dangerously, but she had lowered her hands to her side.

"But Maug is using you!" Beast Boy broke in, "Doesn't that make you, er, _angry_?"

Rage's eyes flashed and Robin could tell that Beast Boy had scored a point. Determined not to lose even the slightest advantage he added, "Yeah, if it were me I'd be _furious_ that a weasel like Maug thought he could get the upper hand."

Rage seethed and glared wildly at each of the Titans in turn. Robin wasn't sure if she was deciding which one of them to attack next or if they had somehow gotten through to her.

"That guy's manipulating you," Cyborg said firmly, "he shouldn't get away with it."

His words seemed to tip the scale and Rage sprang into action. "I will not be manipulated!" she roared. "He is the one who is weak! I will not allow him to remain in my domain!" With a furious screech, Rage leapt off the roof in a whirl of crimson cloak.

The vacuum left by Rage's sudden departure was filled instead with stunned disbelief. The Titans stood in silence for a full minute, hardly daring to look at each other, then Robin turned to Starfire in awe, "That … I can't believe that worked." He broke into a grin and added, "Starfire, you're brilliant!"

Starfire blushed and bit her lip. Behind him, Robin could hear Cyborg and Beast Boy whooping and cheering, but it didn't matter. He would have kissed Starfire even if the whole city had been watching.

* * *

Raven cried out in pain, this fight was not going well. She may have been several times his size, but with her powers at partial strength Maug was slowly gaining ground.

"Don't worry," Maug promised with a maniacal grin, "I won't kill you. You are of no use to me dead. Injured, however, is another case entirely." He struck out once again with a bolt of electricity that Raven was unable to block.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Raven reached out with her soul to levitate a boulder. Flinging it at the smug wizard, she ground out, "you're making a mistake turning Rage against me. If I lose control of her she'll tear you and everyone else apart."

"You underestimate me, my dear," the wizard insisted, deflecting her attack with one of his own, "I, Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World, am the master of control. Your little angry side will perform my every whim."

"You think so?" snarled a ragged voice from behind Maug, "You are wrong!" Raven's eyes widened in shock as Rage shot out of the shadows and leapt onto Maug's back, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. Maug yelped in pained surprise before dislodging the Emotion with a burst of flame.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Maug roared, "You will do as I command!"

"I will never bow to you, weakling!" Rage shot back fiercely. She lunged at Maug but staggered back with a grimace when he struck her with a ball of electricity the size of a boulder. Raven remembered herself in time to lash back at Maug with a blast of her own.

"Titans, go!" Robin bellowed from somewhere behind Raven and a green tiger shot past her knees.

"How did you –?" Raven began, but Robin cut her off.

"Not now. Let's take care of this guy once and for all."

Maug was briefly surrounded by a blue-green glow as both Starfire and Cyborg scored hits, then Rage leapt at him again and knocked him to the ground. Raven felt almost sorry for him as the wild girl scratched and bit at him while Maug shrieked in agony.

"Get her off of me! Keep her away!"

With a superhuman effort Maug shoved Rage backward then followed her trajectory with a bolt of power. Rage fell in a smoking heap at Raven's feet and Raven was faintly aware that the rest of the Titans had mobbed Maug as she knelt down to look her errant Emotion in the eye.

"Rage, please," Raven offered her hand to the girl and spoke as gently as her booming voice allowed, "you've done well. Now I … I need your strength to defeat him."

Rage jutted her chin out proudly and held Raven's gaze with a measuring look of her own. As if satisfied with what she had discovered, the red-clad girl nodded and reached out to grasp Raven's hand firmly. The contact lasted a split second and then Rage melted away as she allowed her body to be merged with Raven's, leaving behind only the warm impression of her grip on Raven's hand.

Raven's powers returned with a snap and she bit back a gasp. She took a moment to reacquaint herself with her renewed abilities before she stood to confront Maug. Below, her friends fought valiantly against the wizard, tired but determined. It was time to end this.

She knew she could destroy him now; she was pure power and he was trespassing on her domain. It would be easy enough to completely annihilate him and part of her ached to do just that, but it was a small part and was swiftly overpowered. He had imposed on her and endangered her friends in a heartless attempt to acquire power, but all Raven could see was a sad, silly little man. More than anything, she just wanted him out of her mind. When they reentered reality she and the rest of the Titans would handle him just as they would any other villain. Together.

Raven raised her hands above her head, then dropped them sharply and Maug winked out of sight.

For a few seconds the only sound was the whirring of Cyborg's cannon as it powered down.

"Good job," Robin said faintly. He cleared his throat and continued in a bolder tone, "Raven, where did you send Maug?"

"He'll have to exit through the mirror."

"Fine. Can you get us back home? We need to finish off Maug before he destroys the Tower."

* * *

The Titans hit the floor of the medical quarters in a collective tangle of arms and legs just as Raven awakened from her unnatural sleep. From her perch on the hospital bed, she scanned the room for signs of Maug while her friends struggled to free themselves.

"He's gone," Robin panted. "Hurry! He may still be in the Tower."

Cyborg hefted himself off the floor and turned to offer his hand to Raven. She grasped it thankfully and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"Shall we split up?" Starfire asked anxiously as the Titans poured into the hallway.

"No need," Raven replied, "I can feel his anxiety. He's this way."

The Titans streamed out behind her as Raven raced down the darkened hall. Briefly she wondered how long the sun had been down and whether or not it was the only sunset she'd missed since they'd first encountered Maug.

They were getting close now; Raven could sense Maug's confusion and … was that fear? She smiled inwardly. Fear was a nice change from the man's infernal arrogance. She turned the corner then hastily staggered backward into Starfire just in time to avoid Maug's welcoming fireball.

"I guess we've found him," Robin's voice was grim, "let's finish this."

As one, the team rounded the corner to Maug's corridor. The wizard was ready for them and immediately knocked both Raven and Starfire out of the air. He dodged a sonic blast from Cyborg, but wasn't quick enough to avoid Robin's birdarangs. Emboldened by his success, Robin launched himself forward, but was repelled only feet from his target by the wizard's force field.

Starfire and a feathered Beast Boy soared in to distract the wizard while Robin sprang back and out of the way. "I don't think we can defeat him as long as he's got that force field. I can't even touch him," he huffed to Raven in frustration.

"He seems to have trouble maintaining it," she observed, "but unless we can get him to drop it completely I think you may be right."

"I … might have an idea," Cyborg interjected, dropping back to recharge his sonic cannon. "Think you can distract him for me?"

Robin met Cyborg's eyes for a few seconds as if to discern his plan but he only nodded decisively and ground his fist into his palm. "You bet. Raven, you're with me."

Cyborg leveled one final blast at the wizard, then dropped back into the shadows as Robin and Raven rushed forward. A brilliant green tortoise hurtled past in the opposite direction and Raven heard it hit the far wall with a resounding thud.

"You're getting tired, Maug," Robin taunted, "you should save us all some trouble and give up now."

"Annoying boy, you will be crushed to pulp long before I find the need to stop for breath."

Robin just shrugged and flung an ice disc at Maug's feet. The wizard lost his footing on the now frozen floor and the force of Starfire's starbolts caused him to skid backward several feet.

Maug retaliated by hurling several shafts of power in random directions and Robin was forced to fall flat on his face to avoid them. Raven spun awkwardly in the air but a glancing blow sent her in a tailspin directly into the path of the charging grizzly coming up behind her.

"Oof!" Beast Boy grunted, pushing her back up onto her feet. "Geez, Raven. Don't you remember how to duck?"

With a warrior's yell Starfire dove forward but a tendril of energy wrapped around her waist and jerked her viciously, first up into the ceiling, then down to the floor. Robin snarled inarticulately and leapt forward, bo staff already in hand. He unleashed a rain of fierce strikes on Maug, but the wizard's force field deflected them all. With a flick of the wizard's wrist Robin was thrown backward, narrowly avoiding landing on a dazed Starfire.

"You will not defeat me!" Maug shouted in victory, "even the strongest of men is powerless against the might of Maug, the Greatest Wizard in the World!" With that, the hall was filled with a bright red, pulsing light and Raven ducked her head, bracing herself for this latest attack.

Cyborg laughed.

"Nuh-uh, dude," the cybernetic chortled. Raven turned her head just in time to see Cyborg remove his hand from one of the tower's access terminals. "You've just met your match."

'_Intruder alert. Intruder alert.'_

Maug's triumph turned to astonishment as an arsenal of dangerous looking devices dropped from the ceiling and swiveled in his direction.

'_Intruder to be eliminated. Commence firing sequence.'_

"What? No!" Maug screamed, covering his face with his hands. There was a brilliant flash of light as the devices fired simultaneously on the terrified wizard.

As Raven's vision cleared her eyes adjusted to the sight of Maug, still crouched in terror, with his hands covering his eyes. He was enclosed in a floating, gently pulsing ball of light. As if aware of her gaze the wizard slowly lowered his hands and looked up. Experimentally, he placed his hand against the wall of light surrounding him; when nothing happened he sneered and flung a burst of magic at the wall of his prison. The bolt of power rebounded off the wall and continued to ricochet around the interior of the ball while Maug again covered his head with his arms and cowered on the floor.

"Nice try, little man, but nobody escapes my containment orbs," Raven could feel the pride radiating from Cyborg as he patted the surface of the glowing cage, "World's greatest wizard? Meet the world's greatest security system."

Maug's eyes widened in shock, "This is preposterous! You cannot defeat me! I am Maug, the Greatest –"

"Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy interrupted, flicking a speck of imaginary dust off his uniform. "Tell it to the guys in the cell block."

* * *

"Waffles, Raven?" Beast Boy offered, setting a full plate down in front of her.

She eyed the steaming stack of golden waffles suspiciously. "Are they edible?"

"I've got ya taken care of," Cyborg called from the kitchen. "They're the real thing."

Raven was sitting at the breakfast table slowly sipping her tea. Beast Boy and Cyborg were in the kitchen, mercifully indulging in culinary cooperation for once, and Starfire was upstairs singing her way through her morning rituals. Robin had been gone when Raven awakened and she knew he was out tying together the last few threads of the investigation.

The glare of the sun on the giant windows caught her eye and Raven turned to gaze out at the calm waters of the bay. She leaned her chin on her hand and admired the way the morning sun danced on each wave and ripple. The view was mesmerizing; peaceful. A welcome distraction from the inner turmoil she had been fighting to suppress.

Raven looked up when Beast Boy plopped down in the chair next to her. On her other side Cyborg dragged a chair close and straddled it, his arms folded across the back. She sensed concern from both of them and she sighed. She had been hoping to avoid this conversation.

"Yeah, that's right. We're asking," Cyborg began firmly, "what's up?"

"Nothing," Raven muttered shortly. "I'm fine."

Beast Boy shook his head decidedly. "No you're not. You can't fool Cy and me. Best friends, remember?"

Raven _didn't_ remember, but it sounded vaguely familiar all the same. She sighed again, this time in resignation.

"I … I wish you hadn't followed me."

"What? Why?" Beast Boy shook his head, puzzled, "We just wanted to help."

"I know," Raven replied shortly, "but I don't like that you had to see me like that."

"Wait," Cyborg said quietly, reaching out and gently covering one of her small hands in his large metallic one, "you're worried about what we think?"

Raven jerked her hand away and clenched her fists. "I – no. I certainly don't care if …" she trailed off and her face resumed a stoic expression. "You already think I'm strange. And after all that happened yesterday …"

"Look, all we think is that your mind would be an awesome place to vacation," Cyborg insisted.

"Yeah," Beast Boy added, "it's better than Disneyland. I wish my mind worked like yours does."

"Man, we'd be lucky to find anything more than tumbleweeds in _your_ mind."

"Hey!" Beast Boy protested, but his indignation died immediately when he caught Raven's unsuccessful attempt to hide a smile. "I'm pretty sure there's a cactus or two," he conceded grudgingly.

The three friends looked up when Starfire entered the room. Her eyes sparkled and her face lit up with a smile. "Good morning, friends. Do I smell waffles?"

"Yup," Beast Boy grinned, pushing back from the table, "I'll get you a plate."

Starfire settled in the chair Beast Boy had vacated and threw her arms around Raven. "And a special good morning to you," she beamed. For one wild moment Raven had to resist the urge to hug Starfire in return, but the feeling passed and Starfire released her.

"And where is Robin?"

"I think he's at the police station," Cyborg informed her, "he should be back –" He stopped when they all heard the familiar sound of Robin's footsteps in the hall. "Perfect timing."

"Maury Gellar," Robin announced as he strode into the room. He slapped a thick file into the center of the table and flipped it open. "He was one of the leading scientists in the field of neuroscience. When he got his powers –"

"How?" Starfire broke in curiously.

"I dunno, something about abnormal radiation I think."

"Figures," Beast Boy grumbled as he handed a plate of waffles to Starfire, "we end up with more supervillains that way."

"Anyway, he discovered that he was able to control some aspects of people's minds. Especially their perception of reality."

"But what about the magic stuff?" Beast Boy demanded, "That wasn't my imagination, some of those blasts _hurt_."

"And the force field," Raven added. "That was the real thing."

"Yeah, he picked up some magic along the way when he ran into a genuine wizard and, er,_ convinced _him to take him on as an apprentice. That's also where he learned to use his gift to actually enter people's minds, but magic wasn't his strength … that's why he needed someone like Raven to do the heavy lifting."

"So he tricked my mind into thinking I'd lost my powers, climbed into my head, and tried to help Rage take over," Raven shuddered in disgust, "and he almost succeeded."

"Maybe, but he wasn't as good as he thought he was. After all, he couldn't remove your powers altogether, just hide them."

"Yeah, and you would've figured out how to get them back eventually," Beast Boy informed her, radiating absolute confidence, "with or without our help."

Raven wasn't so sure about that, but it was pointless to argue. "There's something I don't understand," she confessed slowly, "Why me? Was it … how did he know that it would be so easy to control me?"

Robin looked at her strangely. "He didn't. He was probably just looking for someone strong with mentally controlled powers. But Raven, I think you're wrong. You weren't easy to control at all."

"Tell that to Rage," she muttered.

"I did," Robin grinned, "or rather she told us. Maug would have had his hands full if Rage had managed to take over. He was never in control, he just didn't realize it. I think the only person you ever had to worry about … was you."

Raven wasn't sure if that made things better or worse. Her shoulders hunched and she assured him, "You don't have to worry, I'll take care of it."

"What will you take care of?" Starfire asked inquiringly around a mouthful of waffle.

"My emotions. I'll practice more control and then you won't have to worry –"

"We're _not_ worried," Robin laughed, "Raven, I think … we _all_ think it might be time for you to try using your emotions a little bit more." Raven looked around the table to see each of her friends smiling and nodding in agreement.

"I don't understand," she admitted flatly.

"We know you feel more than you let on," Cyborg assured her, "we just think it'd be healthy if you let it out once in a while."

"My emotions give me power. The more I feel, the more power I have. If that gets out of hand …"

"If," Robin insisted firmly. "We all know you're great at controlling what you feel, what if you tried controlling your excess power instead of just your emotions?"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy broke in enthusiastically, "You could come up with creative ways to use it. Like keeping the refrigerator clean."

"Or waxing the T-car," Cyborg added.

"Watch it," Raven growled, but her lips twisted into a reluctant smile.

"In truth, we have each become even more fond of you than we had been previously," Starfire told her gently, "we have enjoyed discovering who you are."

"And we _like_ who you are," Robin concluded, "we just want to help you be … well, you. That's what friends are for."

It did sound nice, Raven admitted to herself, but she shook her head regretfully, "I don't know if it's such a good idea."

"At least think about it," Robin insisted firmly, "nobody expects anything to change overnight, but maybe you could try a little bit at a time. Consider it a research assignment. What's the worst that could happen?"

Raven pondered, "I could become an emotional wreck while my powers reduced the Tower to rubble."

"We're insured –"

"I'm still half demon," she pointed out, "what if that part of me is just waiting for a chance to escape? How do you know I won't turn evil and try to destroy you?"

"Demon or not, you're still Raven," Robin informed her earnestly. "We trust you."

"Yeah! Plus? I could totally take you down," Beast Boy boasted.

Cyborg shook his head in disbelief, "Whatever man, Raven'd wipe the floor with you."

Beast Boy leaned forward and tapped his forehead significantly, "Nuh-uh. All it takes is a little bit of planning."

"So you'd be toast."

"What, like you could do better?"

"Maybe, maybe not. All I'm sayin' –"

Raven just listened as her friends continued to argue good naturedly. Robin walked over and leaned on the back of her chair. "So whaddaya say?"

She thought she should probably continue to argue, but really, what was the point? Her friends would wear her down eventually. Raven looked up at Robin and smiled, "I'm pretty sure you'll be sorry, but I'll give it a shot."

"Good," Robin answered, satisfied, "that's all I ask."

Raven blinked and looked down at her hands while the cheery voices of her friends filled her ears. She smiled fondly to herself before turning back to Robin, her eyes sincere with gratitude. "Thank you Rich – er," Raven stopped, bemused. Where had that come from? "Sorry … Robin."

Robin just grinned at her.

**End**

* * *

**Final Author's Note: **That's all, folks. If you've stuck with me this far: thank you. I hope you enjoyed the story.

Special thank yous to:

_Seletua:_ Thank you! The story had lovely things to say about you as well. :)

_sparklyscrunchies:_ I really appreciated your double shot of encouragement. Cyborg and Crude's budding friendship was one of my favorite parts to write, I'm glad to hear it came across well!

_Celia:_ Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I feel a bit shaky when it comes to plot, but I'm so happy you found the character development interesting. The relationship between Raven and her friends, and Raven's struggle with herself, is more interesting to me than a fight with a lame super villain any day.


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